Roads Paved in Shadows
by AlbertG
Summary: "We don't have information on the numbers yet, sir," one of the commanders answered quickly. "It's not the Cylons. The Thirteenth Tribe is attacking us. We're at war with Earth." Adar was completely stunned that emotion quickly turning into a burning rage. "But why?" he snarled as his rage turned into a need for vengeance.
1. Chapter 1

**NOTICE: THIS STORY MAY BE DISTRIBUTED FREE OF CHARGE BUT MUST NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR FINANCIAL RETURN IN ANY FORM.**

 **-COPYRIGHT/DISCLAIMER NOTICE-**

 **"** _ **Stargate", "Stargate SG-1", and "Stargate: Atlantis", "Worldwar"**_ **and the "** _ **Worldwar related books"**_ **,** _ **'Battlestar Galactica, The Re-imagining", and**_ **"** _ **Babylon Five"**_ **and all related** **material, its characters and certain technological devices and/or references to such, from the television shows and movies, may be or are registered trademarks of their respective corporations and franchises. In other words, I own nothing other than the original characters in this story. Everything else is trademarked to their respective owners.**

THIS STATEMENT MUST ACCOMPANY THE STORY _'ROADS PAVED IN SHADOW'._ IF DISTRIBUTED. THIS STORY IS FREE OF CHARGE AND MAY NOT BE SOLD OR EXCHANGED FOR FINANCIAL RETURN IN ANY FORM. THIS DEDICATION MUST ACCOMPANY ANY DISTRUBUTION OF THIS STORY.

Dedication: Bless my wife and the girls who are now women who allow me to drive their cars sometimes.

This is an official AU of Ash Boomstick's (Bob Regent) story called RAAB (Reunions are a Deleted) on this website. It is NOT THE WORLDWAR SERIES written by AlbertG.

Having said that, the characters are the same in almost every way. What you see in Worldwar-The Balance Destroyed and the subsequent series are identical but placed in an entirely different set of circumstances. _**The two stories are NOT DIRECTLY RELATED TO ONE ANOTHER. In other words, they are not the same universe.**_ In many ways, this is closer to RAAB and Consequences of Actions than my other Worldwar series.

I was originally given permission to use RAAB as a background. I recommend that you read his story to get a feel of SG-1 and nBSG2003 and the disagreements they have with one another. Most importantly, this story is blood brother to RAAB but its mother is Ash's other story 'Consequences of Actions'.

Ash has already contributed to this story in terms of ideas as well as technical data. That is his gift and I find that I rely on him greatly in such matters. I can only hope that I make it worthy of his dreams. RenS contribution in the original Worldwar-SG-1 series will be reflected in this as well so I will acknowledge that. EVERYTHING in the WW-SG-1 series is knowledge and reflected here.

Oh, and one more thing.

No Ori… _ever_.

Thank you and have fun.

* * *

 _ **Cyrannus Star System–Earth Date: December 2021**_

 _ **Planet Caprica, Caprica City**_

 _ **Earth Time 1:35 AM**_

Sixty seven year old Richard Adar, two term President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol, now ex-President as of three weeks ago, was sound asleep when the first bomb detonated thirty miles west of one of the most densely populated cities on the planet. He didn't see the flash, not directly. His eyes were closed when the flash lit up his bedroom. However the instant the flash happened, he was fully awake as the deep, earthquake-like vibrations shaking the entire Presidential residence practically knocked him and his wife out of their bed. It was that cold realization of what the cause had to be that caused him to fight to keep from voiding himself. Suppressing the urge, he quickly turned towards his wife Mathia, shaking her violently, forcing her awake–gods, she was a heavy sleeper!–when the entire night sky turned to daylight as another nuclear bomb exploded somewhere west of the first one. A second heavier rumble shook the building once more. Several bullet-proof windows splintered and fell out of their frames.

The bedroom door was literally kicked open by Presidential security personnel. "Come with us, Sir," yelled a no-nonsense Special Colonial Services guardian who towered over the President by at least six inches. Three more of the security personnel entered the bedroom and the four men then grabbed Adar and his wife and man-handled them towards the door and to the private elevator that would take them to a secured bunker underneath the Presidential residence. Adar and his wife were still in their bed clothes, but that barely mattered as the horror of a nuclear flash occurring directly over Caprica City seemed imminent. The six people crowded into the elevator with the lead security man punching a series of buttons and speaking rapidly into the voice ID system. The doors closed and the elevator began to rapidly descend. The re-enforced elevator continued down some twenty stories below the home and all the while Adar was demanding answers.

"Is Goesel safe?" Adar all but demanded. Antonius Goesel had just won a hard fought election against hardliner Cornel Minas, Quorum Minority Leader. As President-Elect he was slated to take over the duties of the Presidency in less than thirteen days. "Did he get to the shelters in time?"

"The city of Meletis was hit ten minutes ago," Agent Knight gruffly said. "He and most of the cabinet-elect were there when the bomb went off. With respect, sir, as far as we know, you are the President, Mister President until we can confirm the status of President-elect Goesel."

"My gods," his wife screamed as she went into a full blown panic.

"I thought we were prepared for any Cylon attack," Adar said as he tried to console his terrified wife. She seemed to calm down after a moment while he spoke to agent Knight. "How did the military allow them to get through our defenses?"

The Colonial military defenses had been significant upgraded since the aborted Cylon cyber-attack almost started a war four years earlier. The cold war status between the Cylon nation and the Colonies of Kobol that had lasted almost fifty years was in a heightened state ever since, with each sides playing cat and mouse with one another. There were incidents usually involving each side violating their respective border, trying to spy on each other's territory, but neither side had overtly attacked one another with anything larger than fighters until now.

"I don't have any information, sir," Lead Agent Rinhardi answered. "What I do know is that at least four nukes hit the surrounding suburbs close enough to make the city feel it. But nothing's hit the city proper," he finished while struggling not to add the words 'not yet'.

Two minutes later, the elevator stopped and the doors opened. Armed guards carrying automatic rifles greeted the occupants two of which escorted the entourage to the main facility. Peladis Protectorate, the name of the huge underground bunker, was already filling up with essential military and civilian officials from more than a dozen interconnected military and civilian buildings and offices. The bunker had dozens of tunnels and several deep underground rail systems all designed to protect critical personnel from heavy conventional and nuclear attacks from both terrorist or Cylon.

Still in their sleepwear, the President and First Lady were somewhat self-conscious as most of those in the room purposely avoided looking directly at them out of respect. Two officials came over quickly and provided some outerwear which were gratefully accepted.

"What's the status?" Adar asked while he put on a pair of borrowed pants. "How many enemy elements are hitting us?"

"We don't have information on the numbers yet, sir," one of the commanders answered quickly. "It's not the Cylons. The Thirteenth Tribe is attacking us. We're at war with Earth."

Adar was completely stunned that emotion quickly turning into a burning rage. "But why?" he snarled as his rage turned into a need for vengeance.

 _ **ROADS PAVED IN SHADOW**_

 _ **BOOK ONE**_

 _ **By AlbertG with co-author and support mechanism Bob Regent**_

 _ **CHAPTER ONE**_

 _ **Carrina III**_

 _ **Current Home Base of Tok'ra**_

 _ **Location: Tok'ra council chamber**_

Anise of the Tok'ra tried, really tried her best not to scream out against the narrow-mindedness of the council leadership debating whether to abandon the current world that their people resided or remain where they were close to Terran territory but completely exposed to the galaxy at large. She suspected that exposure to the Tau'ri had a more profound effect than many had realized. The chief scientist wished to stay where they were and like many others was very vocal about it. Judging from the heated discussion going on within the council changers, she wasn't the only one who disagreed with the current proposed action. Others were unsure, cautious. The Ashtorath Lords knew their location and could strike if their fear of the Tau'ri faltered. Yes, the Ashtorath were a very credible threat but there was always one threat or another facing the Tok'ra. Everybody understood that. However, after several thousand years constantly on the run from the System Lords, habits had developed and cemented themselves in the minds and hearts of the Council and the Tok'ra.

The dedication to the destruction of the System Lords represented the very lifeblood of the Tok'ra, the genetic cousins to the Goa'uld. Queen Egeria, the progenitor of the Tok'ra recognized the true nature of her leader and dedicated herself to fighting that evil. She fought against Supreme System Lord by becoming Tok'ra, literally translated meant 'against Ra'. All her offspring inherited her distain of him and the other System Lords, the Goa'uld and their vile practices. Ra was not pleased with this renegade movement.

Defiance meant a death sentence for anyone to dare try to usurp his authority in any way. The Supreme System Lord rarely deviated from this rule. The symbiote queen was imprisoned by the Supreme System Lord for more than two thousand years and many believed her long dead. She was later discovered alive but later died after saving the Pangaran inhabitants from the inbred defect.

To the galaxy at large, the Goa'uld and Tok'ra were little more than parasites when in fact they were so much more. They were intelligent beings that function better with living hosts. The problem lay in how the host were selected. The Goa'uld took hosts by force and they all chose the more aggressive parasitic method of invading their hosts, completely subduing and dominating their unwilling human hosts. The Tok'ra acquired hosts by cooperation; however, that difference was lost to most of the galaxy who hated the Goa'uld and with good reason and considered the Tok'ra little more than passive Goa'uld.

* * *

The Goa'uld Empire reigned for at least ten thousand years as measured by Earth but four thousand years earlier, the Goa'uld supplanted a space-faring race, taking over their society and their culture. The result was a short but very vicious war. The Unas, the Goa'uld's natural host were strong and vicious fighters. With each victory the Goa'uld gained more technology and knowledge and extended their ever-tightening grip over their enemies. The alien ships were confiscated, the technology copied and used against the original creators. The Goa'uld were not inventors but they were excellent thieves and knew how to copy the stolen technology.

The war ended abruptly when the enemy race developed a genetically based biological weapon capable of infecting and killing both the Unas hosts and the Goa'uld within. Retaliation was immediate. Now considered a primary threat, the race's three worlds were consigned to naquada-enhanced nuclear fire. But, it was already too late, the damage already done.

The biological weapon killed both the Goa'uld and their Unas hosts. There was no cure and no hope of escape. Millions of Goa'uld died and millions more were sick and dying.

The Unas-Goa'uld entity known as Ra, was a rarity. He was a scientist. He was also absolutely terrified of the final death and in a mindless panic he fled deep into an unknown area of the galaxy trying to escape the plague. But it didn't matter where he fled, because he was already infected. One of his most praised possessions a life-saving sarcophagus couldn't heal him. That medical device was so advanced that it could bring an individual back from the dead within a specific period, but against the plague, it was all but useless.

Ra's Unas host was in almost mindless agony and weakened to the point of death when the ship barely landed on a blue world circling a yellow sun. The world was filled with life however that was of little concern to Ra. The great darkness was coming and he sought to escape his host even if it meant transferring himself into some lowly animal. The ship was surrounded by life forms. Gathering what little strength he had, Ra crawled towards the escape hatch and opened the door. Spent, he lay there wallowing in mindless terror as the darkness crept closer.

Ra barely managed to open his host's eyes and then, he saw it. A bipedal creature wearing a few rags and holding a spear looking at him in what Ra assumed was curiosity. It didn't matter and with a strength born of desperation, the Goa'uld form escaped its dying host and took the bipedal male. Free of its old host and inside a new one, Ra felt jubilation. The biological weapons effects were fading rapidly as the human body fought off the affliction and Ra's own healing abilities started to heal both himself and the new male host. The young male was very primitive and the symbiote ruthlessly crushed the personality of his host until nothing of significance remained. The memories were still there but everything else, the young human's sense of self, was forever lost.

As he lay there next to his now dead former host, Ra repaired injuries, removed numerous minor parasites and healed the minor diseases of his new body marveling at how easy it had been. This host was splendid Ra thought in wonder. The new host's body was so easy to repair and was impervious to the disease that had brought the Goa'uld to the edge of extinction.

The first thing that the revamped Goa'uld did was to repair his ship, secure his scientific treasures and set himself up as a god to the primitives of Earth. He called his worshipers the Ri. As this was the first world of his newly planned empire, he called the people the Tau'ri, or First Ones. Only when his possessions and stolen technologies were secure and the first of two stargates were placed on the world of the Tau'ri did Ra contact others of his kind. Family members were first. Not one of them was trustworthy but he controlled the weapons and technologies to keep them in line. Under his direction, the Goa'uld thrived and expanded. Their starships controlled large portions of the galaxy. However, it was because of their lust for life, their need for power and their control over the human slave populations that they spread across the galaxy that turned Ra's people into worse monsters than they already were.

The humans that they depended on for so much were treated with distain. To the Goa'uld the humans were little more than cattle. The Goa'uld's inherent fear of death incited them to destroy any other civilization that might even think of opposing their will and influence. Ares, Sokar, Ba'al, Hathor, Heru'ur, Anubis, Chronos; the list went on and on. All of them committed atrocities against one another and against any others that opposed them. With the exception of a precious few, their abuses of the sarcophagus for any actual or perceived injury slowly drove most of them insane. They went from pretending to be gods to actually believing that they were. A few like Ba'al and Ra of course, pretended to be gods but they kept their perspectives. The empire flourished, dominating much of the galaxy and uncounted worlds suffered for it.

They had few real enemies strong enough to defy them. One was the Asgard whom all of the Goa'uld hated and feared. The others that they hated above all others were the Tok'ra their enemies by blood.

Ra tried to repeatedly destroy Egeria and her offspring. Going against Ra directly was suicide as the Tok'ra stood no chance against the might of the System Lords vast armies and star spanning warship numbering in the thousands. Instead, they developed methods for infiltration, gathering critical information and sabotage in order to fight against their very powerful enemy. For two thousand years they used these methods to undermine the Goa'uld.

Then the Earthers crawled onto the galactic scene. Ra had abandoned Earth long ago after a human rebellion frightened him into leaving. Ra was prepared for space ships attacking him and his territory, but a few savages with sticks and rocks had come too close to killing him and his terror of mortality and death drove him from the world of the Tau'ri. Earth was free of the false Sun god's tyranny for thousands of years. Earth's civilization grew and fell and grew once more without any influence of the System Lords.

Stumbling, making a mess of everything, these Tau'ri or as they preferred to be called 'Terrans' shattered Tok'ra strategies to destroy the Goa'uld decades even hundreds of years in the planning. The first thing the Terrans did was to kill Ra in a most spectacular manner. Then they went to war with Apophis, warring against one of the most powerful system Lords in the galaxy. Time and again the Terran world survived imminent destruction and not only survived but thrived and grew stronger. Their taunting, their antics, their ignorance, and their seemingly endless supplies of luck helped destroyed the System Lords and catapulted Stargate Command and by extension Earth, into one of the premier powers in the galaxy. In less than fifteen years the Terrans did more to hurt the empire than the Tok'ra had been able to accomplish in more than two thousand.

It was true that the Tok'ra were very pleased with the downfall of the System Lords; but now, they had a new and growing concern. The Tau'ri were too powerful, growing too fast for their own good and most Tok'ra believed that was the surest path to disaster.

* * *

"Another one of our operatives was discovered but he died before the pursuing Jaffa were able to obtain his true identity," Council Rana said. "Tanja's' body was completely incinerated. There is no trace that we were involved."

Council Kella nodded soberly. "It is a great loss. The Ashtorath are becoming more efficient in detecting our operatives. That is the third one in three years. But his loss serves to illustrate the problem that we have. The Ashtorath are not fools. They have to know that we are somehow involved. This permanent base is no longer secure. For our safety, we should relocate to another world."

"I disagree," countered a somewhat irritated Rana. "This world is established as our base of operation since the destruction of Ba'al. We no longer have to hide in the shadows. No longer do we have to move from world to world in fear of our lives."

"You are an optimist gambling with the lives of everyone present! The Ashtorath are no better than their predecessors. I consider the Ashtorath Lords are more dangerous that the System Lords ever were. They know where we are and we all know that our defenses would not repel a sustained attack. Just because they are less inclined to attack us in Tau'ri protected territory doesn't mean that they won't at a time of their choosing. We've all witnessed what is being done to the Lucian Alliance. They were crushed without mercy. The survivors are being pushed into Tau'ri held territory and we all know what the Tollanian remnants are doing to them."

"I won't disagree with that assessment about the Ashtorath," Rana stated. "What I am saying is that because we have established this world in the public presences of all of the other worlds for all to see, the Ashtorath will be more inclined to negotiate with us rather than try to attack us. That gives us time to develop our defenses and make allies with those other nations."

"The fear of public opinion is worth nothing to the Goa'uld. We have no defenses except hiding and running. We're not strong enough, we don't have enough numbers or defenses to withstand a sustained attack. Even with the Free Jaffa nations coming to our aid, it would only delay the inevitable."

"So it is your opinion that we should start hiding once more in the caves and desolate worlds as we did for so long?"

Kella nodded quickly. "I think it is prudent that we consider the idea and consider it diligently. I only hope that it is not too late for us."

Anise had had enough. This argument between the council leaders and the others had gone on for months with no decision, with nothing decided by the leadership one way or another. Her eyes flashed brightly as she spoke. "If we don't have the means to protect ourselves then why don't we re-engage with the people of Earth? The Ashtorath are afraid of them and their power. A closer alliance would benefit all of us."

Kella's turned towards her and suddenly he was roaring with unbridled laughter. "That is another major issue that we have skirted around. The Tau'ri are too powerful and too dangerous and they are unpredictable. Look at their recent activities," he all but sneered. "They should have destroyed such an aggressive species as the Race. They came to try to conquer Earth. It took them decades to get to the Tau'ri system by less than twenty light years away, and look what they did. I admit that General O'Neill's response to the invasion was unique. I would be outraged if it wasn't so amusing."

"But this is exactly my point," Anise said. "They should have obliterated the Race's ships the moment they entered the system with hostile intent. With such an aggressive profile their intentions were obvious. Instead the Tau'ri showed mercy, opened communications and in a few short years from now they will finish a buffer zone twenty-five light years in all directions between the worlds of the Race and Earth. It is somewhat surprising that they are capable of such forward thinking. O'Neill is not cognitively aware enough," mused Anise. "But Carter might have such capability and Doctor Jackson as well. That is a positive sign that if we approach them properly without subterfuge, we may be able to find some type of common ground once more. Surely they could appreciate some of the scientific contributions of the Tok'ra. I could help them in their studies."

"We broke our association with them for a reason," Kella rebutted. "They're too immature, they are children playing with powers that will surely destroy them given time. Their arrogance will be their downfall or, the Tau'ri will become worse than the Goa'uld."

"They are young and growing," Anise said. "It is true that their sciences are growing unchecked but it's not too late. The discoveries that they have could allow us to develop technologies that also could protect us from the Ashtorath."

"Anise, once again you are allowing you love of science blind you. We cannot trust them. Besides, O'Neill made no attempt to hide the fact that he mistrusted us and hates you. I see no reason why he or the rest of them have changed their opinion of us."

Anise could feel the hurt in her host Freya's mind. She couldn't fully understand why General Jack O'Neill hated her so much and a part of Anise felt guilty. "We are not Goa'uld! He never accepted that."

"Your actions didn't help the situation between us," Kella commented. "Your exuberance in using them in experiments without their permission was the cause of a lot of their grievances."

Shock and angered Anise stood up abruptly and for a moment looked as if she would strike the councilman. "Do not blame this all on me! The council agreed with my actions. It was the council's fear that forced us to break relations with Earth. Even if they hate me, it was your decision to break off. I opposed it but none of you listened."

"In retrospect, I still believe it was a wise decision," Beru, another member of the council said. "in the last few years we have focused too much on the Ashtorath and not enough on the Tau'ri," To Anise's dismay many other Tok'ra present were nodding in agreement. "There are others who have expressed a concern about the Tau'ri and their growing threat and I've spoken to some of them," he stated. "I have had several meetings with him and I have invited one here to meet with the council."

"You have what?" Kella demanded. "You should have informed us first. You had no right to do this without consulting us first."

"Our society is open now at this moment," he added sarcastically. "The Terran allies know where we are as does the Goa'uld. We can speak and invite others here before we go back into seclusion And," he added, "as you suspect I agree that we need to protect ourselves. We need to stand on our own. We need to be able to defend ourselves. The Ashtorath or the Tau'ri will attack us eventually and while you have been endlessly talking I have been acting to secure our people."

"What have you done?" Anise demanded. No one berated her because they were curious as well as concerned. Beru was always more impulsive than the others and several times had overstepped his bounds protecting them. "You've exceeded your authority."

"I have worked to secured technologies that will help us survive against anyone who would dare attack us."

"You did?" asked a very skeptical Anise.

"Yes, I did," he answered. "We need to dedicate our efforts to undermine the Tau'ri's growing influence. These newcomers are as interested in keeping the Tau'ri or as they preferred to be called the Terrans, from becoming a real danger to everyone."

Turo was unsure what Beru was implying. "Beru, we all have our doubts about the Terrans but it sounds as if you've already declared war against them."

"No, not a war with them, not yet. A deterrent. We and the free Jaffa allied with us should slow their malignant progress. If their infrastructure is destroyed or crippled, then we could focus on the Goa'uld. We would show our strength and both Tau'ri and Ashtorath will not take us lightly and respect our own power."

"So, we've jumped from speaking of re-establishing communications with them to wanting to start a war," said an infuriated Anise. "It is no wonder why they hate us." Several of the other Tok'ra looked thoughtful and appeared to agree with Anises' argument.

"I thought you were listening, but apparently not. They hated you, Anise. You should not speak on things that are not your area of expertise. Furthermore, you have no authority to voice your opinion here."

"Neither do you," she hissed back. "What was their price for this technology they are so willing to give to us? Nothing was free. What did they want?"

"Beru smiled. "That is the question they asked of me, 'what did I want?' I told them that I want is to make sure that the Tau'ri don't become another Goa'uld empire. I want to stop running in fear of both the Goa'uld and the upstart Tau'ri. I spoke of the human's arrogance and constant meddling in affairs they are not prepared for. I had dinner with the man and it was most illuminating. At the end we came to an understanding." From his pocket, he pulled out a small data crystal. "Here is a list of the equipment they will give us."

"They would give us all of this?" Kella asked after looking though the small manifest. The number of weapons platforms was more that the Tollan had in their prime. "It's almost too much."

"And what did they want in return?" another council member asked. "You did not answer the question."

The entire room was silent as Beru began speaking. "Information on the Asgard and their war."

Anise frowned. "The Asgard are all dead. We know every little about that war except that the Terrans were involved. The Asgard home world and eleven others were destroyed in the war with an unnamed but powerful enemy. No one knows more but the Terrans."

"Another one of their secrets," grumbled Beru.

"Secret or not, new technology or not, I will not condone a preempted strike on the Tau'ri based solely on our fears," Rana interjected. "I agree with Anise. Maybe we should reopen discussions. If they could accept the Race, there may be hope for our people. There is no harm in trying to bring about a new alliance with them."

"You are rejecting the gifts without even seeing them?" asked a stunned Beru. He honestly expected the council to. if not jump at the chance, at least strongly consider it.

"This is too good to be true," Kella said while looking at the list once more. "Why would they give us this? I think we need to be careful about accepting such gifts from strangers."

"I agree. We will deliberate more on this at a later time," Rana said. "For someone to give such gifts as you are implying and expecting so little in return is something that I do not feel comfortable with. The Terrans have a saying about looking in the mouth of a gift equine."

"Fools. You're rejecting what could be our salvation. Such opportunities do not last long. We must seize it while we can."

"No," Rana said. "We are simply being what we always have been. Careful. Besides if this is genuine, then waiting a while should not be a problem if it is given in good faith."

"We should err on the side of caution," Anise said with an air of satisfaction. "And we need to explore our options."

"Our cautiousness is why the Tau'ri have advanced so quickly," complained Beru. "Our cautiousness will be our downfall," Beru said as he pointed to the list in Rana's hands, "is our only option."

"We will discuss it," Kella said. His tone indicated that his word on the subject was final.

Without a word, Beru turned and walked away. The dreams of freedom for his people had turned to ashes. Mister Morden, the non-Tau'ri that reminded him so much of one, would be disappointed.

* * *

As it turned out, Mister Morden _was_ disappointed. The tall, lean man almost seemed angry but only for a fleeting second. "Are you sure that your council won't change their minds?"

"Thousands of years of hiding from the Goa'uld and living with the fear of extermination have made my people too cautious," said a very bitter Tok'ra. "They have refused to take the opportunity to free ourselves from our enemies."

"Perhaps I could speak to them?" prompted Morden.

"No, they won't listen," Beru answered. "Perhaps another time?"

"I'm sorry," the man said. "I've come from a very long distance from here and my associates and I will be returning soon as we have very pressing matters at home to attend to."

"I wanted to ask you, where are you from?" Beru was skeptical about asking but his curiosity was edging him on.

Mister Morden smiled. "I can only say that we've come a very long way to meet you."

"It is my regret that we were not able to come to terms. But I was able to confirm that the Asgard were all killed in a war with an unknown enemy. Their world was destroyed and them along with it."

The human nodded graciously. "Thank you," he responded. "Any information about them is helpful. My associates will be most please. They wished to meet the Asgard if they were alive but it appears that that may be impossible," Morden shrugged. "Do you by chance know if I might be available to speak to the Tollan."

Beru shook his head. "I don't think it wise to speak to them. The Tollan home world was destroyed by a Goa'uld attack and the people killed and scattered. As they fled, the Lucian Alliance raided, captured and destroyed many of the remnant ships. The Tau'ri saved them and helped the get back their kidnaped people. They call themselves the Tollanians now and they are very close allies to the Tau'ri. Speaking to the Tollanians is the same as speaking to the Tau'ri. "Will your associates be disappointed?"

"They may be somewhat disappointed. But disappointments happened before and it will happen again," the man replied. "Thank you for your time. Perhaps we can do business in the future."

"As do I."

"Good day, Beru of the Tok'ra."

Both men turned and walked away.


	2. RPIS 2

Record keeping time:

 **Alejandro:** The introduction of the Colonial-Earth war at the beginning of chapter one is a foretaste of things to come. See the timeline at the end of this chapter.

 **Shadowwriter01:** I have ben speaking to Bob Regent on the subject of the Tok'ra. One of the things we strongly suspect is that the Children of Egeria may be in fact two factions. The Tok'ra are the faction we know. But there may well be a second faction, a group that has chosen not to fight on either side and are hiding somewhere away from both the Tok'ra and goa'uld afraid of being wiped out. This si something we may touch on in the future. The Tok'ra might have wanted to become the new goa'uld but a more benevolent one…we don't know. There are many possibilies.

 **Procyon1:** Yes they have come a very long way to meet them. Further than you might believe.

 **Stalyon:** Yes, this is a three-way crossover. Actually maybe a four- way as this is a WW/SG-1/B5/BSG2003 cross. Why this is will become clear as we continue in the chapters. The story is based in a WW-SG-1 universe. Some people may recognize why this is but I am not saying directly at this point.

 **Inquisiitor0:** Beru will find out there is always a price for dealing with Shadows. And you've right about some of the Tok'ra. It is their fault that relations with the Terrans soured. But, they were afraid of new things namely the Tau'ri. It's hard to accept change.

 **Tweeky:** I posted on SB first. I hope you have fun with this. It's opposite of the current WW series. That is one of relative peace. This one is not. Hope you're doing well.

 **Guy:** This is in the correct section. All four series are involved here but this is a Worldwar-SG cross with BSG and B5. As I mentioned above the reasons will become clear in the immediate future.

Everyone, please enjoy.

 _ **Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book I**_

 _ **CHAPTER TWO**_

 _ **Shang-La**_

 _ **Goa'uld seat of power**_

Shang-La, the home world of the eldest of the system lords, Yu the Great, also known as Yu-huang Shang Ti, was now the capital of the Ashtorath System Lords, the children of the now dead Lord Ba'al. Unlike the other Goa'uld, the four family members, biologically engineered, genetically modified clones created from material from his own Goa'uld, were unique and each one was given a special gift intended to make them whole in a way no other Goa'uld had ever been before. They were united and worked together instead of hoarding individual power and stabbing each other in the backs.

Between creating clones of himself, living on Earth and continually evading Stargate Command while attempting to create a small powerbase amongst the Tau'ri, he studied the people he was trying to destroy. One of the last, and some would say smartest of the System Lords, had time to read and observe a society not subjected to or influenced by the Goa'uld. Although contemptuous of Earth, he wasn't foolish enough to ignore the planet's positive attributes. His creation of several clones, although initially purposed to help save his own skin, served to focus his attention on family in ways he'd never considered before. Family units showed a solidarity that he understood to be very useful. Subservient clones were excellent tools but the diversity of family was more efficient. Ba'al created his vision of the perfect family: powerful, intelligent, interdependent, and compatible and supportive of each other with him established as the father figure. However, his young 'family' confident in themselves, had no use for him and his overbearing obsession to control them for his own purposes and they killed him.

Ba'al was the last survivor of the great System Lords. With him gone, the Ashtorath of Ba'al seized his remaining assets and together, took the reins of power. Together the new System Lords were reborn. Dozens of minor Goa'uld fell into line under the Ashtorath and the empire was reborn. Astartea, Anath, Ashtoreth, and her genetic twin Atargatis effectively controlled one third of the former Goa'uld Empire and it continued to expand. Using the examples and experiences that the genetic memory of their father's, some of which he gleaned from his life on Earth they were surprisingly successful. The reason for that success was attributed to their ability to negotiate with the same fervor that they made war on their enemies.

Many of the former Goa'uld worlds were struggling and leaderless. Thousands of years of being under Goa'uld control, now struggling for that elusive concept called freedom had left many of these worlds crippled, the people afraid of surviving in a future without strong leadership. Much of the brutality and viciousness of their former oppressors was forgotten when faced with the unknown. The presence of something familiar, something that offered freedoms that the former slaves never had before under their previous masters was a very tempting offer many worlds couldn't refuse. Consequently, there were dozens of worlds that willingly joined the Ashtorath. Despite their successes, many other worlds were not willing to return to the old ways. Having tasted freedom without Goa'uld domination, most were less willing to rejoin the Empire. Most the Lucian Alliance factions hadn't.

Ashtoreth and Atargatis, gods of the slain, were drowning Lucian Alliance combined worlds in blood for their defiance. While the Lucians were being crushed, Anath turned his eyes on the Free Jaffa. War hadn't broken out yet but it was inevitable that it would happen sooner rather than later, when the Empire's army were strong enough. Several of the largest independent Jaffa nations were protected for now by the size of their armies and the continued presence of the much hated Tau'ri, but for how long the stalemate would hold was debatable. The Shova could not be allowed to continue their defiance and they were required if the one true enemy was to be defeated utterly and crushed beneath the Empire's boots. Some of the nations chaffed at the Tau'ri's power, believing that they weren't worthy of the positions they obtained. Those nations wouldn't fight against the Earthers but they couldn't be relied on to help them either.

* * *

Yu-huang, named after its former owner, was the largest city on the capital world of Shang-La. Lord Yu was considered by many as one of the most civilized of the System Lords. Under his reign, limited reading and writing was allowed. Farming techniques and agriculture flourished and the people lived idyllic lives when compared to the world rule by Goa'uld such as Chronos, Zeus, Hathor, Heru'ur, and the abominations Sokar and Anubis. It was little wonder that the Ashtorath chose this modern city as their imperial base. It was Lord Astartea, widely acknowledged as the most diplomatic of the Goa'uld who sat on the high throne located in the golden pyramid in the very center of the city. The huge skyscraper-like structure was the tallest in the Empire and considered by all as the most beautiful. Inlaid with gold, silver and precious gems, the throne room was a masterpiece of art and science blended into one. It was designed by Lord Yu to impress and intimidate the other System Lords and their slaves. The Ashtorath did not see a reason to change the design other than to replace the official crest of Yu's with their own.

Lord Astartea, dressed in her finest splendor for the occasion, sat regally on her throne patiently listening to the pleas and request of her people. The very sheer and finely crafted purple and blue dress laced with gold threads, it shimmered, creating a glow that mesmerized those who saw her. Combined with her constantly glowing eyes, it gave her an aura of almost godlike radiance. It was exactly as Astartea intended when meeting with her subjects.

The memories of her dead father had taught her about being available to the masses, and it had served her and her family well. A hard line served no one's best interests all the time. That was a truth most of the older Goa'uld never understood or accepted. These open lines of communications between the Lords, and the independent worlds brought as much power to the Empire as outright conquest. The people of the imperial worlds were content and their loyalty, true loyalty was a dramatic improvement over the previous reigns. A little more food, a bit more unimportant freedoms and medical care did wonders for morale. Productivity across the empire improved. The servants were even paid a minimum wage. That small allowance did more to secure the loyalty to the Ashtorath than anything else. The revamped Goa'uld Empire continued its slow but constant expansion.

The competition between the Tau'ri and the empire for valuable and critical resources was fierce and everyone was certain that it would lead to war. Each world acquired was one less resource for the much hated Tau'ri whose technological advances were running rampant. The Tau'ri absorbed Asgard technology at a rapid rate and their threat grew every day. Ba'al once speculated that the Tau'ri had somehow gained knowledge of the mythical Ancients however there was no solid proof that this was nothing more than a rumor. If it were true the 'Humans of the First World' were keeping the secret very close to their rotten hearts. Technological treasures from the Ancients littered the galaxy but were hard to find–if they weren't stargates. If Earth had already discovered some treasure of knowledge then the Goa'uld might be doomed, or war would ignite before the Empire was ready.

* * *

To anyone who didn't know her Astartea gave the appearance of an attentive leader, but she was bored with all the tediousness of minor diplomacy, however today promised to be interesting as well as beneficial for the Goa'uld. Two new worlds had sent envoys requesting the terms and conditions required in joining the Empire of their own accord. Astartea was most pleased with their possibility of them joining as they were young worlds new to the Ashtorath. One of the worlds was a hidden one, controlled by a minor Goa'uld named Teha. No one knew her fate but everyone assumed she was dead. She was a jealous ruler and fearful that more powerful System Lords would discover her treasures and take her worlds by force, so she was very secretive. One of those worlds possessed significant amounts of naquada deposits, a mineral that was desperately needed if the Empire were to survive. The second world was the last of a group of three once controlled by the Goa'uld Nun.

Despite the sudden influx of riches for the Empire, the Astartea had to admit that most of the time, imperial duties _were_ very boring. Boredom was a necessary evil that required it be endured for the greater good of the Empire and Astartea did her best. But sometimes it was good to be an absolute ruler which is why her human tay'skel did most of the talking while she sat on the throne looking regal. Myrana were far more than a simple Lotar, she was the genetic, identical twin to Astartea. Grown by Ba'al's scientists she was physically aged seven years. The age difference was ordered specifically by Ba'al. The Goa'uld worshipped youth and vigor in their hosts. Although beauty was especially prized in the females, it wouldn't do to have their tay'skel identical to their superiors in every way. The difference in age served to delineate between the two, but anyone with eyes could see the resemblance and connection between the two. The dark-haired beauty was the human counterpart to the engineered body used by the Goa'uld. Both were connected in mind and body. What one felt, the other knew. If one was bored so was the other.

The usual tediousness boredom changed in the late afternoon when this last representative, a woman presented herself into the empire. Astartea felt her instincts flared in warning. Immediately, the goa'uld in the room were on guard. The woman almost felt like Reetou but not quite. Screens located throughout the Imperial palace and the city designed to detect such intrusions by those foul creatures had not activated the alarms. The thought that the slightly out of phased creatures might have invaded was an irritation but were not considered a real threat to the new order, not with the anti-Reetou weapons systems in place throughout the palace. This woman however made her anxious in a way that almost made the System Lord order the Jaffa and servants to check the systems. Myrana, tay'skel to Astartea felt the increased anxiety coming from her counterpart.

The red-haired woman who approached was an older individual in her early fifties, very attractive but not quite beautiful, wearing a simple two-piece suit made of a material that looked like pure silk. The outfit was expensive, yet tasteful as opposed to the usual expensive gaudy styles of the usual guests and envoys trying to make an impression. Her outfit was designed to project confidence and power and in that it succeeded. At first glance the woman seemed unremarkable, however she exuded a presence that demanded one's attention. Her Jaffa escort appeared nervous around her and that was alarming in and of itself. Something else that immediately drew both Astartea's and Myrana's attention was the cut of woman's style of dress. The attire instantly set her apart and identified her for what she was.

Myrana maintained her calm demeanor but beneath she was a surprised as her sister-master. "Present yourself to Lord Astartea," she announced. There was a hint of hostility that the tay'skel couldn't quite suppress.

The stranger wasted no time and bowed. Then, in perfect Goa'uld, she started speaking. "Oh, honorable Lord Astartea of the Ashtorath Goa'uld Empire. My name is Anna. I…"

Before she could finish, Astartea was standing up, hostilely glaring at the woman. "Why is a Tau'ri presenting herself in this court?" she yelled, frightening the other visitors who were now backing away from the woman. "You are not welcomed here. Jaffa kree!"

Both escorts froze. Each of them towered over the woman but the Goa'uld larvae inside their pouches were almost panicking. The woman named Anne smiled, unconcerned of the danger threatening her.

"I am not Tau'ri," she before Myrana could order her shot. "My style may be similar in cut, but I certainly not one of them."

"Why are you here?" Myrana demanded. Like her counterpart, her instincts were screaming at her to beware. This woman was a threat.

It was impossible for Anna not to notice the anxiety emanating from the Goa'uld, but she didn't acknowledge it. "My Lord, I represent a group of associates that are new to this part of the galaxy. They have found is place _most_ interesting."

"What is that to me? I should have you killed!" Astartea growled. The Goa'uld was afraid and wasn't sure as to why. "Leave now or die."

"I mean no disrespect," Anna said. She hadn't moved a step; her hands were folded in front of her and she appeared completely unconcerned by the other Jaffa guards now pointing their staff weapons at her. "I am here only as a representative so that we may introduce ourselves to the great Goa'uld Empire." The words were humbly said, but Astartea was having none of it.

"Jaffa!"

Sighing, Anna bowed. "You wish me to leave, then I will do so." She turned to leave but she stopped, shocking everyone with her audacity. "Apparently, you want the Tau'ri to destroy you. If that's what you want, then I will say goodbye." She resumed her walking.

Other than the quiet footsteps of Anne the silence in the great hall was deafening. Astartea glared at her counterpart, booth in silent communication with one another. Quickly, they came to a decision.

"Wait," ordered Myrana.

Anna immediately stopped and turned. Again, she bowed slightly deferring in the Goa'uld leader. Her face was still a blank mask and showed nothing of her feelings to those gaping at her. It unnerved both women.

"Who are you masters, these associates," Astartea practically hissed. "And why did they not come here themselves?"

Anna was silent for a moment and cocked her head as if she were listening to something. "The enemies of my associates were defeated and they became curious. Their curiosity lead us here."

"Which Goa'uld defeated your enemies?" demanded Myrana.

"It wasn't a system lord that defeated our enemies. It was the Asgard," informed Anna. "My associates want to know more about them."

For the first time Astartea actually smiled as she began putting things together. She decided to tell the stranger what she knew, to see wherever it would lead. "There was a great war and the Asgard race was destroyed defeating their enemies. Several worlds were destroyed. It was their war with your enemies that destroyed the Asgard?"

"We believe so. Are the Asgard are all dead?" asked Anna.

"Yes, the Asgard were wiped out destroying their–your enemies. They were very powerful and no Goa'uld could stand against them," Astartea told her. Whoever or whatever that enemy was, was strong enough to defy the Asgard. Both destroyed each other, the best of all possible outcomes with the exception that the Tau'ri had survived. But the Goa'uld needed to know exactly who the enemy had been. "No one knows who this enemy was. Tell us," she demanded.

"My associates will be pleased to know that the Asgard no longer live," the woman answered without answering Astartea's question directly. "The name of the enemy is considered a curse among my associates so I am not permitted to speak it. But I am tasked to ask you, 'what do you want'?"

Myrana laughed. "Your masters are asking a foolish question."

Anna shook her head. "On the contrary, this question will allow my associates to better understand you and your needs."

"Our needs would be for your _associates_ to serve the Empire," Myrana said.

"My associates are interested in learning the answer," Anna said as she sidestepped the veiled threat. " _Your_ answer will help us to serve you better if they decide to join the Empire."

"You dare!" Myrana rarely lost her temper in front of an audience and because she did, it set a tone of fear throughout the entire audience. She was not Goa'uld but she was power.

The woman was unperturbed. "My only responsibility is to serve my associates and to relay a message. What we are asking for is the answer to this one question," Anna responded. "If it is too difficult, then we thank you for your time and my associates will go somewhere else. There are others who will answer our question and engage our services."

Astartea cocked her head and viciously smiled at Anne. "Do you threaten us?"

"No, Lord Astartea, I don't." Anna stared at the goa'uld anticipating what the goa'uld was think. "Whether I live or die isn't important. Others will take my place. We will simply go elsewhere to have our question answered."

"You are either very brave or very stupid to come her alone into the heart of my empire," Astartea intoned as she watched her carefully for signs of fear of the precarious predicament she was in.

For an instant, the Goa'uld thought she saw the smallest hint of a smile. Other than that, Anna continued to look completely unconcerned. It wasn't what was being said by Anna that disturbed the Goa'uld, but what was implied.

The System Lords of old were not known for their patience. This Anna and her unidentified associates were unknowns and she would have been killed immediately. Whoever these associates were would be hunted down and killed. Astartea's instincts however were warning her not to do anything to this woman, or the consequences would be dire for her and the Empire. This frightened her. She didn't know how she knew, but trusting her instincts was something her dead father had programed into her and she would trust them now.

"What do you want?" asked Anna as she spread her arms wide. It was a small action that nearly caused one of the already cautious Jaffa to shoot her. She knew it. She didn't care. If anything happened to her, her associates would exact a terrible retribution.

Astartea looked at Myrana as she sat down heavily. Even for a god, this was taxing. The sooner this was over with the better. A quick nod to her counterpart gave her permission to answer.

"What does my Lord want?" an annoyed Myrana asked. She did not like this woman. "The Ashtorath Lords want to return the Goa'uld to their rightful place as the rulers of this galaxy. We want the complete destruction of the Tok'ra. For too long we have suffered their existence. We desire the complete and utter destruction of the Tau'ri, their allies, and their worlds. They have stolen what is rightfully Ours and killed Our servants. We want the blight of the Tau'ri extinguished forever. That is what we want," she all but snarled.

"There's such beauty in darkness," Anna whispered. "Thank you, Lord Astartea," she respectfully answered. "I will inform my associates of your answer."

"And what will your associates do with these answers?" demanded Myrana.

"They may be in a position to do something about the Tok'ra as a show of good faith," the strange woman answered before bowing and walking away. Not a single Jaffa dared stop her.

Astartea started to laugh at the foolishness of this woman. "And what about the Tau'ri?" she whispered. "Will you destroy their world and gain the favor of the Goa'uld?"

Anna Sheridan didn't turn around, pretending that she hadn't heard, but she knew what the System Lord was thinking and she whispered back. "She allowed herself the slightest hint of a smirk as she answered that unvoiced question in her mind.

* * *

The court was utterly silent as the woman walked through the gold-laden doors. The entire spectacle was unprecedented and the audience who witnessed the odd scene were worried. Goa'uld maintained the appearance of control over every situation. This audience was an exception, one that was usually never tolerated.

Between Astartea and Myrana there were no verbal commands, just barely a nod to one another. Myrana walked over to her assistant, an educated human, a survivor from Lord Yu's empire. The older man with a long gray beard barely moved as Myrana issued orders. The man bowed and quickly spoke into his communicator. Anna Sheridan was to be followed until she reached her ship. She was not to be impeded in any way. A Ha'tak was to follow her vessel to its destination. Astartea wanted to know exactly where she went and who her _associates_ were.

If the woman knew that she was being followed as always, she gave no sign of it. She went directly to the space port and her shuttle. The small chemically powered vessel rose into orbit rendezvousing with a larger somewhat primitive looking pleasure cruiser. The shuttle docked and the larger ship slowly left orbit. The Ha'tak certain it would not be detected followed, preparing to jump into hyperspace when the ship opened a vortex unlike anything ever seen before. The ship accelerated and plunged into large gap in space time into a swirling vortex. The Goa'uld ship moved as quickly as it could and managed to follow its target through into the unusual vortex entrance an instant before it closed. The surprised Ha'tak crew found themselves in a dimension of space they had never conceived of.

They would never be seen or heard from again.

 _ **UCW Resolution**_

 _ **Edge of Goa'uld Territory**_

Space exploded as a Ha'tak vessel transition into normal space. The ship turned in a leisurely manner and vectored toward the Imperial home world unaware that its every movement was being tracked.

"Captain," said Lieutenant Commander Mason Blakeslee. "That is the third Nun Ha'tak sighting this week."

"So, noted," Captain Chandra answered. "Same vessel?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"They are playing cozy with the serpents, Commander. It is safe to say that the Nuns will likely join the Ashtorath. That makes all four of System Lord Nun's worlds joining without a shot being fired. Quite a coup. A pity Nun will never know his little empire is no more. Make sure we log it in. Earth command will certainly want to know."

Captain Idira Chandra was the second to command the British built United Coalition of Worlds Ship _Resolution_ the first of five _Prometheus_ stealth ships. After its first year long tour the Resolution was refitted to the _Prometheus II_ standard. Although lightly armed, the ship possessed the latest in cloaking, stealth and countermeasures technology. It was a spy ship specifically designed to enter Goa'uld territory, gather intelligence, and insert and retrieve cloaked probes from sensitive or contested territories. The old System lords always suspected that the hated Tau'ri spying on them like their foes, the Tok'ra.

Idira cracked a ghost of a smile as she couldn't quite help enjoying thoughts of the discomfort of the Goa'uld. The serpents had accumulated quite a few ' _much hated'_ enemies, but the Tau'ri held a special place in their hearts. The name Tau'ri was once a word used with contempt by most of the Goa'uld. Now, it was associated with hatred and fear. The Ashtorath were no different than Chronos, Apophis, or the rest of the lords other than he fact that they chose to talk first before attacking. The serpents were at war with the Terrans, as the humans of Earth preferred to be called, and their allies. It was just that the shooting hadn't started yet.

Seated in the Captain's chair, Chandra poured a bit of milk into her tea as she watched the main view screen. The Nun Ha'tak transport prepared to generate a hyperspace window and within a few seconds it was gone on the last leg of their journey.

The captain of the _Resolution_ was taking a chance stationed so close to a main traffic hub of one of the most powerful Ashtorath. The idea of having all visiting ships stop at a designated way point was a great security measure. But the hub was also a weakness that the Terrans took advantage of. The Goa'uld was also aware of this weakness. Imperial Ha'tak warships, both visible and cloaked were diligent in their patrols as they knew that the Terrans couldn't resist spying on them and took measures to prevent that as much as possible.

The United Coalition of Worlds acknowledged that by all accounts, Astartea was the most powerful and unpredictable of the new system lords. Together, the Lords were doing away with the feudal system that had so limited the first Goa'uld, a system put into place by Ra and it was an effective method of keeping the Goa'uld from destroying themselves. But the Ashtorath were a new breed. Independent worlds were willingly investigating and joining the Goa'uld under this new leadership and Earth was more than concerned. The Nun, a group of four worlds once ruled by the minor lord Nun had sought out the Ashtorath serpents to join and were apparently being strongly considered. Lines were being drawn.

Captain Chandra was disgusted at the turn of events but she could not say that she wasn't surprised. People tended to gravitate back towards things they were comfortable with even if they knew that it would mean the loss of their newly found freedom. The Ashtorath had the ability to inspire others and several worlds were influenced by their speeches and what they were doing for the worlds they ruled.

"Give a few trinkets to the masses and they will come running to you," she murmured.

Commander Alden looked up. His short cropped blondish hair was barely visible underneath his cap. Quickly he began gazing somewhere else. His captain had the greenest eyes he'd ever seen. They were quite captivating really but he had no intentions of even hinting at what he thought about them. The short olive skinned officer was his superior and he didn't want to jeopardize his or her position onboard the ship or either of their careers.

"These people know that the Goa'uld will turn on them, but they keep coming as if their actions will change," she said.

"They are giving them food, some education and protection from the Lucian Alliance."

"Let's not forget a few freedoms. That's what happens when we allowed Ba'al to get his hands on the Evil Overlord's Handbook."

"That too," he amended. "We have a hit of that the unidentified vessel that left an hour ago. We are unsure of the precise origin of the ship but the type of FLT that it utilizes is unmistakable. It is the same type used by the enemy in the Asgard war."

Idira sipped her tea while she gathered her thoughts. The liquid was tepid now but she really didn't notice. "The war happened before I became a commander. I thought that was over and done with."

The confirmation of the type of FTL used was about to start a firestorm back at home. Assumptions that there was another invasion would be foremost in just about everyone's mind and that was certainly a concern. It was equally possible that some unknown race from home had developed the so-called jump space technology and until that was either confirmed or denied she'd add the observation to the logs and shunt it off in the next data packet in six hours. However, remote the possibility was, she had no intentions of endangering her ship by giving away their position to the Goa'uld patrol vessels that the _Resolution_ continually played cat and mouse with.

"It was quite nasty," Commander Alden said. It was before his time as well. "Most of the details are still classified."

"Commander, please give me a report on the available information we have on their FTL system. I want to know if there is a way to track them. If we can, then we may find out the ship's place of origin. That would certainly be useful before we make any assumptions."

"Yes, ma'am. I've read that being immersed in that the strata is very chaotic. There are eddies and even storms that will rip you from your pathway. There are no points of reference and you can get lost forever. Navigation required beacons stationed at fixed positions in normal space to establish waypoints for safe travel."

"I remember that. I also recall large gravity wells in normal space can affect that under-layer. It's very bizarre, so much so that we shouldn't even call it hyperspace. It makes me glad that we don't use it."

"Captain, we have data on this FTL and jump space. I can attempt to re-calibrate the subspace sensors to see if I can scan the dimensional strata for vessels," Lieutenant Talia Greens said. "We do have the sensor recordings used by the Asgard to track enemy ships during the war. It should take twenty minutes. I recommend that we move away from Goa'uld territory to decrease the likelihood of detection once active scans are initiated.

"Feel free to begin recalibration," Lieutenant. "On my mark, deactivate the cloak. Active stealth mode, place shields on standby. Helm, take us three light years away from Ashtorath space, one hundred eight degrees. We'll remain there for a bit while the scan is performed."

"Coordinates imputed, Captain," Lieutenant Sama. "Ready to initiate hyperspace jump at your command."

"All systems mark."

The _Resolution_ decloaked and passive shields went on standby. The stealth system activated making the ship barely almost undetectable by most ships. The stealth system was a very viable alternative to the cloak and many of the stealths used the system as SOP when scanning less technologically advanced territories and worlds where full cloaking wasn't warranted. The system was also useful for diminishing the hyperspace entry and exit signatures as the cloaking system didn't work in hyperspace or entering or exiting.

"We are green across the board, Ma'am."

"Move us to a safe distance. I want us two hundred thousand kilometers from the central hub before we jump into hyperspace. Be mindful of the ha'taks."

"Take us there," lieutenant Sama."

"Yes, Ma'am."

The _Resolution_ crept away slowly gaining speed as they moved further away from the Goa'uld traffic lanes. As soon as they reached a safe zone, in a small flash of distortion, the ship accelerated and disappeared in a flash.

(())

 _Note One: Stargate: Continuum is canon and does explain Ba'al's final death. Try as I might I couldn't quite mesh it with this reality, so I won't try. But I did want people to know that I acknowledged that history. I could have tired the clone approach but again it would be hard for people to swallow, so sorry. Ba'al died in this reality by his 'children's hands._

 _March 2009: Two Earth ships escape from a human civilization engaged in a war with a ruthless enemy. The desperation the human civilization asks for Terran technology. They receive a small amount that balances the odds but the human civilization wants it all and tries to take it. General O'Neill threatens to nuke the human capital with a multi-gigaton bomb. He also ruins the plans of certain politicians. The politicians have very long memories._

 _-_ _June_ _2009: Failed Wraith invasion of Earth._

 _July 2010: The Asgard engage an enemy with terrible consequences. Twelve inhabited worlds are destroyed including the new Asgard home world. Incensed the Asgard retaliate and the first of two-huge invasion fleet are wiped out. Earth is immediately pulled into the war as the invaders target Earth. Earth is targeted because they are held responsible for the rendering of the circle. After a fierce battle the second fleet is virtually exterminated. Broken, the enemy flees back to their territory._

 _Between the replicator and this last conflict, the Asgard have lost tens of millions of their people. Out of desperation the Asgard finally abandon their cloning experiments and use human DNA to reverse the degradation of their bodies. Many survivors are against this and would rather they die as a race rather than pollute their fast disintegrating genome._

 _Common sense prevails and Terran DNA is successfully combined with Asgard DNA. The result is a Asgard-Human hybrid body able to reproduce sexually. The Asgard bodies cannot retain the vast knowledge their clone brains could. However, they are refreshed and they can begin to start again down a new evolutionary path._

 _Having children and new physical bodies is psychological strain. The Asgard go into isolation. Most people believe they are dead. Only a select few people are aware that they are alive._

 _-May 2014. Disgraced Vice-President Robert Kinsey Sr. was declared missing and presumed dead_

 _-July 2014: Prometheus inadvertently has first contact with the Colonials of Kobol. Doesn't go well. The Earth vessel escapes and the Colonials have no idea where Earth is located._

 _-August 2014: Due to the Prometheus proving that Earth exists, the Colonials go on a state of alert. They discover the Cylon infiltration software ruining the planned surprise Cylon attack. A state of cold war heats up. Small Cylon and Colonial ships violate each other's territory. War has not broken out but borders are jealously guarded._

 _-March 2018:_ _The Race invades Earth territory and are immediately stopped by Earth forces. Terrified, by the Advance Terran warships and humbled by the fact that Earth or Tosev III natives found them another very hospitable planet. The Emperor instead of isolating Home and the Empire, listens to the state of the galaxy and immediately joins the United Coalition of Worlds. This stun the entirely of the Empire however they obey their leader and are now integrating with Earth and its allies._

 _-December 2020:_ _The Colonials discover the location of Earth President Adar orders a small fleet to travel to Earth or as they know it the Thirteenth Colony with a peace offering, as an apology for their treatment of the Prometheus and crew. Many hard liners are horrified by this action but the Quorum agrees with his actions and the fleet heads on its year and a half long journey to Earth. Many people agree with the President's action however he is at the end of his second term. Antonius Goesel and hard liner cornel Minas become the leading contenders for the Presidency._

 _Naturally, the Cylons follow with a fleet of their own. They are afraid of Earth and its advance ship (Prometheus). Now, they are not sure whether they should initiate war or peace talks with Earth as two Cylon factions argue the merits and dangers of either actions. The lead Cavil wants to immediately attack and remove Earth from the equation. Other Cavils are not convinced that initiating a new front is wise and are more pragmatic in their views._

 _ **-March 2022:**_ _Terran and Race soldiers begin military games and training together._ _The Race begin building their own war and transport ships using the FTL drives. This is being achieved with the secret help of the Asgard. The Emperor and Thor have developed a very strong relationship. Everyone else assumes that the Asgard are dead. They are still recovering from the War._

 _-Current date_ ** _April 2022_** _._

 _Note 2: The Earth Colonial war begins in Book II._ _ **August 2022**_


	3. Chapter III

_**Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book I**_

 _ **CHAPTER THREE**_

 _ **UCW Resolution**_

 _ **3 lys outside Ashtorath Border**_

 _ **Shang-**_ La

State of the art sensors penetrated deep into the dimension call jump space. Waves of subspace emissions passed into the strange either bouncing and reflecting off eddies and currents and gravitation echoes giving the operator a three-dimensional view of everything within three light years. But the results were deceiving as the subspace transmission were not fully configured for use in the alien strata. It represented a good approximation of the real thing. Still the results were good enough for the crew of the _Resolution_ to scan the region.

"So far nothing," Lieutenant Greens informed the Captain who nodded an affirmation. "Lots of data. No vessels of any kind."

Two hours had passed since the stealth vessel began its scans of jump space. Although the _Resolution_ had records of the dimensional layer called jump space, Lieutenant Greens was still in awe at what the data was showing her. This dimension was nothing like the hyperspace she and the crew were used to. Jump space was a completely different medium. One of its properties was that the dimension was more compact than normal space and that allowed for faster travel as compared to normal space. The mathematical computations needed to properly scan from normal space into the JS dimension and generate useful, understandable data was a nightmare. One light year in normal space equaled to three AUs in some places and in others varied to one third light year and that was just in one region scanned.

Dimensional jump space contained identifiable as well as random occurring eddies and currents of differing types that stretched as far as the sensors could detect. There were objects there that sensors outright refused to identify. But was most surprising was that the entire dimension seemed to act like an ocean. There were no specific markers to be used as waypoints other than the gravitation echoes generated by super planets, stars, superstars, and black holes.

"Our more eccentric explorers are going to love this data, Ma'am," continued Greens. "We are recording what the sensors are identifying as false echoes. Several gravity shadows were detected which might have corresponded to local stars or gas giants. It's little wonder that beacons were used to create artificial points of reference," she muttered to the captain as she continued her scans. "I'd expect we'd be lost for sure."

"We'll, let's be thankful that we don't use it," Alden commented. "It seems very limiting."

"Obviously not to the people who use it regularly," the captain answered dryly. "You would be amazed at how quickly people can get used to a thing."

"They can have it, Captain. I've scanned for any form of beacon or locator devices that might be used, but I've not found anything other than two small vessels located one half million kilometers' stationary in normal space."

"Two small vessels out here so close to Goa'uld territory and only a half a million klicks from our position? Interesting."

"They're the only thing around, Ma'am. No beacons in the area according to the scanners."

"I didn't imagine you would find anything," Commander Alden explained. "As per our records, if one of the races uses the jump space dimension, then their beacons would be in their local space, most likely not out here. Otherwise, I imagine we'd be running into the bloody things all over this sector. I'd also imagine the Goa'uld would be most displeased with beacons cluttering up things near their space."

"Have the ships detected us?" the Captain asked.

"There's no change in their energy profile," Greens announced. "There is no evidence of either ship performing a sensor sweep of any type. I don't believe they have detected our passive scans."

"Secure from active sensor sweep," the Captain ordered. "Keep the program will you, Lieutenant? We will probably be using it a lot more often."

"Lieutenant Mason Blakeslee looked up from the tactical station. "Should we contact the two vessels, ma'am? They are in the middle of nowhere and close to Goa'uld territory."

Lieutenant Greens turned to her captain. "At this distance, without actively scanning them, I am unable to determine if the vessels are functional or require assistance."

"You may be correct, Lieutenant. If it were one ship, then maybe. Two ships are suspicious. They may be assisting the other, but this close to Ashtorath territory? I prefer to err on the side of caution. Deactivate stealth mode and cloak us. Lieutenant Sama, move us closer to the targets. Take your time, don't rush. Continue passive scans only until we can determine the status of the vessels. Watch carefully for any roving Goa'uld patrols."

"Yes, ma'am. Cloak active." There was a change in the lighting indicating that the ship was fully cloaked. "Starting our approach."

* * *

Onboard the _Caynon_ , Mister Morden sat in his favorite chair, cross-legged from his associate Anna Sheridan. He had just finished reading her mission report, which admittedly had gone better than his. Overall their reconnaissance mission was considered a success and had yielded more information than either of them expected. This space was unique and their associates were pleased at the possibilities presented to them.

But being so close to the Goa'uld territory now was a gamble that could blow up in their faces. If a Goa'uld patrol happened along, the plans so carefully crafted for so long would be jeopardized. Years of preparations could be lost and their associates would have to start all over again. This part of the mission was over and Morden and his people were waiting for their ride. It would be safer for them to wait in jump space but this area was almost completely unknown and there was no way for their two ships to remain stationary without a point of reference. The real threat of drifting off course due to eddies and current could easily trap them in that dimension forever. Without any points of reference, they couldn't dare re-enter into normal space blindly as the presence of currents and eddies usually meant object emitting gravitational pulls. Usually these objects were planets, stars, the occasional black hole or any of a thousand stellar objects waiting to destroy their ship and kill them all. Or, they could emerge in an unknown area of space where they have no points of reference effectively marooning them with no possibility of them getting back. Neither ship was equipped to handle such emergencies. At least, not yet.

His associates were coming soon and would safely take both ships through jump space to their next destination at speeds that the _Caynon_ and the _Hennison_ couldn't hope to match. They could safely navigate this _unknown_ jump space. So now it was simply a matter of waiting until they came.

Seated across from him, Anna continued eating her sandwich. She was a beautiful woman but Morden had never been interested in her when they were crewmates on the explore ship _Icarus_ or afterwards when they had reached Z'ha'dum. Of course, he was more concerned with staying alive then. Most importantly, he was in love with his wife and even if Anne, who was–once a married woman, would have been interested, she was now a different woman from what she was before. Her experience on the planet had changed her, changed all of them.

Including himself, there were only five of the _Beckman_ crew members still alive. Having the _Icarus_ lose its primary life support system had delayed exploration for months. The IPX replacement got them to where they needed to go and then–everything changed. They weren't looking for that world near the edge of the Rim, the one whose most recent name is Z'Ha'Dum. but the Minbari records indicated that it was a world of unimagined power and evil. That intrigued the then Senator Clark gave personal orders for the Exploration division to find it and bring back its secrets, if any. It was supposed to be a dead world anyway so anything of value would be salvage or of value to the scientific community. Personally, back then, Morden always suspected that Clark and his military, political and industrial allies had ulterior motives. Now he was sure, however they had no idea just what they were looking for.

That was more than twenty years ago.

Most all the others were dead now, killed by his associates when they landed on the planet. Looking back at it, it was such a waste. The captain and the rest were fools. They should have accepted the terms given them and lived. But most of them refused and by the time they'd approached Jason, Fred, Anna and himself, beings called Shadows (no human could possibly speak their actual names and the entities had so many different designations over the thousands of millennia that it no longer mattered to the Shadows what others called them) had changed tactics to get the remainder of the crew to cooperate. As for Morden, he was offered a deal that would save his family. His wife and daughter's space transport was lost in jump space when their jump engine failed. His associates promised to find them if he worked with them of his own free will. He quickly agreed. It took them a year but they kept their promise. The ship and crew were dead as main power and auxiliary failed months earlier but they had kept their promise and having no choice he honored his.

He was augmented with their technology, not as much as Anna, but still he wasn't the same man as he used to be anymore. Unlike Jason and Fred, Anna had refused their associates' offer and so they took and blended her with one of their ships. It was only when the Eye of Shadow saw her possibilities did they realize her importance for the future did they disconnect her. By then, the Anna that he'd known didn't any exist anymore. She was wedded to Shadow body and soul. Morden was indifferent to her transformation. What was done was done. It mattered little to him as he was just as bonded to them as she was. It was only how it was done, not why.

"Gravity is a wonderful thing," he muttered while drinking his coffee. "I wish we had had it earlier."

"Yes," Anna agreed. "My two associates approved of the Goa'uld answers. I think we can develop a working relationship with them after a few adjustments."

Morden frowned as he responded. "I'm glad you were more successful than I. The Tok'ra aren't the ones we're looking for but they're still useful in some fashion. The man Beru will be most helpful and he's already been implanted. Unfortunately, though, our fears are confirmed. Everywhere I've been, there's talk of the Tau'ri."

"I've confirmed that as well," Anna said as tried smiling. It almost worked. That was one thing that Morden had that Anna had lost; the ability for the smile to reach her eyes. "They are a new power in this galaxy; but a very young power, still growing. The Goa'uld have definite opinions about them. Our associates are most pleased with their hostility."

"That's very good," Morden said. 'Our main concern was the Asgard and their interference. That's no longer a potential problem. They're extinct according to my sources."

"That's what I've concluded as well."

"There's no evidence that any of the survived as far as any of our sources can tell. However, I think we should focus more on the Tau'ri. They will interfere." He shrugged. "That might as well be their middle name. I believe that our associates will have to deal with them much sooner rather than later. They have inherited the Asgard technology but they are still integrating it. If they're not stopped now, they'll always oppose us."

Anna's eyes glazed over for a second as she communicated with her associates. This was something not even Morden could do. He heard them. He felt them but he might as well be a babe when compared to her. Anna was far superior. His was a connection. Hers was a bond.

He was frightened of her and she knew it. _Such beauty in darkness_. He was still partly human having made a choice to serve. Whatever it was that made her human was gone.

"This space is the perfect scientific laboratory," she began. "Many of the intelligent species native to this area were wiped out by the Goa'uld. They've spread humanity across hundreds of worlds and most of them are pre-industrial, perfect for our associates to shape in any way they see fit without interference from the others."

Both Anna and Morden were nodding in agreement. There was a time coming soon when beacons would dot this galaxy and hyperspace modes that everyone here took for granted would be a thing of fading memory. Limits needed to be established, controls instituted if the experiment was to be properly monitored. It would take time and sacrifice but in a few generations, when the experiment was primed and everything was in place, the fruits of their labor would be magnificent. Unimagined numbers of people were going to die, but the survivors would be ideal numbers for control and treatment groups. Other species abound in this galaxy but humanity in such numbers and in such diverse cultures were perfect. Three to four thousand years in the future the study could begin in earnest. And best of all, the others wouldn't be around to interfere.

But that was for the future, one neither of them might not live long enough to see. But that was unimportant now, both need to focus on the here and now.

"The Goa'uld will remain a variable but a greatly reduced concern when our associates are finished." Anna glazed over once more as more information was imparted to her. "There are a few races that might try to interfere," she grumbled. "But they're far in-between and are insignificant. No First One interference."

"I do have one concern. Our space is contained by the limitations of Jump space. Containment here will be a problem. These stargates…"

Anne agreed. "I've thought about that as well. I've already spoke to our masters about this and they were not concerned. They are eager to see the ultimate results of their experiments. Different sections of the galaxy can be experimented upon independently. More experiments can be performed with added variables that they could never use in our space. Failed experiments can be terminated without threat. Every stargate we encounter will be destroyed, removed, or denied access. We will control them or find a way to prevent them from operating. _We_ are studying them now. Our masters are studying ways to disable the network.

Morden was pleased by this. Sections of the galaxy separated by distance would be experimented upon independently. It was a fantastic opportunity. "Then we need to contact the Tau'ri and begin operations."

"We can't get near their star system. Their sensor net is very sophisticated according to all reports," she answered. "Our masters are very cautious and their concerned is justified. The worlds near them are controlled by a species called, unremarkably, the Race. That empire is part of the alliance and with them employing and extending the sensor net that stretches twenty-five light years in all directions we won't take the chance of discovery."

Morden shook his head in wonder. "That is amazing. We had nothing like that at home."

"Yes, and our masters have chosen not to press our luck."

"Is there any way for us to get past it?"

"No. It has to be Asgardian in nature. These people are powerful, but as I've said before they are still very young and we're going to have to take advantage of this as soon as possible. We have a window of opportunity here but it's shrinking quickly."

"Morden nodded in agreement. "Then we need a distraction to keep them out of the way until we complete he next part of our operations. They may have to be eliminated before they become strong enough to interfere with our plans."

"Not yet," cautioned Anna. "They will be useful in cutting the heart out of the Goa'uld without our associates using their precious resources reserved for other activities."

"Our masters can handle them if necessary."

" _You are correct, Morden,"_ a voice in his head answered. Two entities known as Shadows appeared next to him _. "They are a young race taking their first steps into space. But our time is limited and they are powerful. It is a shame we were unaware of this place for so long after the war. If we had known we would have begun our operations sooner and the Tau'ri threat would have been minimalized. Because of the delay, we will have to take a more proactive stance when they interfere. For now, our interest is in the Goa'uld. Their answer pleases us and they can be most useful. To show them our sincerity we will honor one of their wishes. You have inserted our servants to the Tok'ra. He will be most useful when we directly engage the Tau'ri."_

"But the Tok'ra are within the sphere of the Tau'ri's sensor grid. Any action against them will be noticed very quickly."

" _We are aware of this. That is why indirect action is being prepared. That is why the stargates are so dangerous. Your scheduled meeting with the Tok'ra will not be necessary. We will, as you say, take it from there. Anna, you will return to the Ashtorath once the mission is completed."_

"Yes, my master."

"I have to point out that the Tok'ra seemed to be somehow aware of your presence," observed Morden.

Anna nodded in agreement. The Goa'uld acted as if Anna was a threat and she also believed that the snake aliens could to somehow sense her two Shadow companions.

" _Yes. We have exposed ourselves them enough that we can now use our natural ability to shade ourselves from the Goa'uld. They will no longer sense us unless we want them to. This galaxy is ripe with possibilities and we must have it. So many humans. We will use them all to our purpose. But first, the Tok'ra. Then we will turn our attention to the Free Jaffa Nation. They will be easy to subvert. The Tok'ra known as Beru's activities shall be useful in disrupting the Tau'ri. But for now, our newest servant will serve a different purpose"_

 _ **UCW Resolution**_

The cloaked Terran warship stopped less that twenty kilometers from the two stationary ships. Both were similar, looking more like pleasure cruisers than any deep space vessels.

"Captain, their sub light engines are cold. I am no detecting any hyperspace engine on either ship," Greens whispered as her hands flew across her sensor panel. "What I am detecting is an element very similar in properties to naquada. It's highly toxic and radioactive. Prelim scans indicates that it is being used as a fuel source, but I've not seen this on a ship before. It's a completely new element or more likely an isotope of the same base that naquada is comprised of. As we know, Naquada is defined as a naturally occurring if somewhat rare mineral. This radioactive substance they are using must be part of the composition of naquada. If isn't as energetic but still useful enough as an energy generator. It very likely has other properties we are unaware of but one can handle naquada with their hands and not be irradiated unlike that material. It's closer to naquadria. However, this …this isotope it is much more energetic but at the same time less likely to explode if used under the conditions we're seeing now. I can surmise that all three are related to one another, each having their own unique properties."

"Interesting, makes me appreciate even naquada more," commented the XO. "Have you detected anything wrong with their ships?"

"Negative, sir. Power generation is stable. I am not detecting any energy buildup or spikes. Both ships seem to be just waiting there."

"Life signs are human as far as we can tell and are not under duress." Looking at the display screen, the officer frowned. "My scans need calibrating. I'm getting some type of false reading. One moment it says somethings there and the next nothing. It's like an echo, Ma'am. There are no destress calls from either ship and their engines are cold. Are they waiting to rendezvous with another ship?" questioned Sama. "Or maybe with an escort of some type?"

"We have three hours before our regular check in," Captain Chandra said. "We'll watch for two more hours for any signs of distress. If nothing occurs we'll be on our merry way. If they're not in distress, then it is none of our concern. They'll just become part of our packet. If they wish to remain near Goa'uld territory then that is their business."

"And if a Goa'uld patrol happens upon them?"

"The Goa'uld are trying to be change their evil ways," was Chandra's sarcastic reply. "They are an 'enlightened empire' now. They may even help those people though I wouldn't hold out much help that they would treat us with such kindness." That produced a small chuckle amongst the bridge crew. "Continue scanning space for any sign of normal hyperspace activity vectoring in this direction. Commander, refresh my memory. How many ha'taks do the Nun have that are capable of…bloody hell!"

"What was that?" Sama literally screamed as she clutched her head. Something, a sound mixed with a presence of something abhorrent, violently intruded onto what she thought of as 'her awareness'. Whatever that scream was, could have been far, far worse, but it still created a backlash that nearly floored her. And she wasn't alone in her distress. Everybody on the bridge was effected in one way or another.

"Contact! Three contacts, two thousand kilometers and closing on the two stationaries."

Captain Chandra was back in her chair looking at the main view screen. The long-distance cameras were centered on the incoming vessels but she couldn't see anything. "Identify targets and see if we can get a visual."

"Captain, our computers can't find a match," Greens announced. "The Asgard database has come up empty. The configuration is like nothing we've ever seen before. "I have it on visual."

Alden looked intently at the main screen squinting. "I can't see anything."

"There!" Chandra said pointing.

Alden continued to squint. "Captain, I…" He froze as his eyes picked out three objects slowly closing in on the two stationary vessels. The objects were black in color but the hull shimmered a silvery color that had nothing to do with the ambient star light. Each leg like appendage possessed extending multiple spike-like protrusions. "It looks like a huge almost spider in space; too many legs though." His tone was saturated with disgust. A spider was an inaccurate description but for now it was the only thing he could compare it to. The trio ships looked deadly in every aspect. "Could this be a Ree'tu v idea of a spaceship? It looks like something they might build and if it is, High Command really need to have a talk with them."

"Maybe. But if they have, they've kept them a close secret. One of the vessels is one point five kilometers in length. The other two are eight hundred meters each. Propulsion is unknown. Weapons unknown but I've no doubt they have them. Sensors are registering them as life forms!"

"Passive sensors lock onto them and get as much data as we can," Chandra ordered. "Go full combat cloak. Back us off slowly. I do not want them seeing us."

Instantly, the ships red stealth lightening turned blue as the _Resolution_ 's cloak activated at max power."

"Living ships of an unknown race. Are there pilots? Or are these living space-dwelling entities?"

"They are predators," Lieutenant Commander Mason Blakeslee said quietly. "They came from nowhere. We must assume that those ships have some unique form of faster than light propulsion available to them."

"I am intercepting communications between the unknowns and the three unknowns," whispered the comms officer. "Regular radio transmission surprisingly, but the encryption is very complex and I haven't been able to break it as of yet."

"Our ride is here," Morden muttered.

It never ceased to thrill and terrify him looking at a mature Shadow battlecrab through the tiny window of the pleasure cruiser. He should be used to it by now he thought lazily. Soon he and the forty-seven crew members and guests on both ships would be at their temporary home in a matter of hours instead of weeks so that they could plan their next moves as soon as possible. Time was growing short and there was a lot of things to do.

"All crew and guests, we will be docking momentarily. Remain in your seats, in your restraints. For you own safety, do not touch the hull of the ships once docking is completed."

Morden made sure that his restraints were secured. Oh, yes, he and Anna and a precious few others were safe. They could touch shadow and live, that wasn't true for anyone else not augmented. For them to touch a shadow ship's hull was to die. Whether you secured in your space suit or not, it didn't matter. The crew was well aware if this and they always took the proper precautions. His musings were interrupted by a soft chatter in his ear. Anna's usually indifferent eyes went cold as she listened.

"Something is wrong," Anna said. "There is a void where there shouldn't be."

"I know," Morden answered as the ship jerked from being docked with the huge vessel above them. His ever-present companions had just informed him. "It'll be dealt with."

 _ **UCW Resolution**_

"Ma'am, the large vessel is docking with both ships," Talia Greens quietly announced.

"I can see, First Lieutenant," Chandra said and then added so softly that no one else noticed, "just barely."

The huge two-kilometer-long ship had gently grabbed the two waiting ships, by extending appendages which clamped around the two ships, giving further credence that the vessel was a living organism. And to her eyes, it seemed to shift and her mind had trouble understanding what it was seeing. It began to move away slowly. The other two vessels stopped and shook for an instant. Both spider vessels went from casual movements to quick abruptness. The leg-like appendages spread out further from its main body.

"Captain! Energy profiles on those two ships just increased by over two hundred percent," Greens whispered urgently. "They're scanning the area."

"We've been discovered," Alden hissed.

"Sama, continue to back us off slowly," Captain Chandra softly ordered. "Keep it smooth. Keep a close eye on them and be ready to run."

"Yes, ma'am."

"They're definitely scanning the area. Core database indicates they're using tachyon emissions and are performing a grid pattern search."

"Can they detect us with tachyons?" the Captain asked.

"I am not sure. I don't even know if tachyons can be used in such a manner. I suggest we not find out."

"They're extending their search. They are definitely aware of our presence."

"CIWS, passive lock," Chandra ordered. "Missile systems online. Lieutenant Sama, I want us out of here, stealth hyperspace jump. They don't know where we are yet. I do not want them to see who we are."

Talia started speaking quickly. Her hands were flying across her sensor board. "One of the vessels has turned away from us and the other one just cloaked. Correction, both are cloaked. It was unusual, more like some type of spatial phase."

"Get us out of here, any vector," Chandra ordered. Lieutenant Sama nodded as he powered up the hyperdrive engines just as the lieutenant commander urgently called out.

"Proximity shields just snapped on! The spider ships are back. "One is…"

The _Resolution_ felt as if a mountain had slammed into it. "All hands, battle stations! Shields to full power. Go full evasive. All weapons and sensors active."

"Hit it as it passes!"

"Firing!"


	4. Chapter IV

A little record keeping: I've been sick for a while, and it affected me more that I imagined it would. Keping it simple, it took about three weeks to recover. It was a pain.

 _ **Flameraverm:**_ The Shadows are powerful. As you read this chapter you'll see that the Shadows will re-evaluate their initial plans against the 'Children of the Asgard'.

The Shadows are unaware of Ancient technology. The Goa'uld suspect but have no proof one way or the other.

And by the way, in book II, Earth has nuked Caprica, Picon and Gemenon several times. This was no EMP, warning or whatever. It's the real deal. Earth has invaded the Colonies with intent to conquer by way of total subjugation by force of arms. 'Why' they are doing this is another story.

 _ **Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book I**_

 _ **CHAPTER FOUR**_

 _ **Location; near border of Ashtorath space:**_

The lead Shadow battlecrab homing in on its invisible target. Of interest was that it wasn't any form of stealth that it had encountered before. It was completely undetectable to Shadow sensors making it effectively invisible, a very impressive feat for a young race. However, the young race's ship had one glaring fault that the telepath joined with the ship was exploiting. Something or a group of somethings were leaving a mental trail, a series of static echoes. Those mental echoes were very evident and as such, although sort ranged, could be tracked.

The black ship, its appendages fully extended, swept passed the suspected position of the target. The purplish white high-energy beam, if seen with the naked eye was bright enough to instantly blind anyone watching it.

Locking onto the 'static echoes' the beam hit the Terran warship across the port side in a downward slashing attack. It was a standard attack intended to slice the target in half. The living vessel, its operator and several Shadows were shocked that the vessel showed damaged but hadn't been rendered totally inoperative. The emergency analysis by the ship's organic brain corrected for the incredibly tough armor protecting and holding the ship together. The strength of the energy shield was higher than the standard shields characteristic of the locals. Quickly transmitting the results to its fellow crabs, it began its turn for another attack as its sister started its own attack run.

(())

" _Captain,"_ Chief engineer Clifford Highcliff yelled through HICOM. _"Their beam weapon sliced into our armor right through our proximity shields. Two decks are opened to vacuum. I have shields closing off the gaps. The main hyperspace circuit burned out. Secondary systems are showing yellow. We lost two crystals. We're replacing them and will be ready in five minutes but we have warning lights across the boards."_

"Understood. Hurry. Blakeslee, get a targeting solution on that ship with our plasma cannons and CIWS as the opportunity presents…"

"Solution locked!"

The small warship twisted violently as it barely avoiding another slashing beam attack from the second spider-like ship as it passed by. The captain watched. Absently, she wouldn't remotely describe the thing attacking them as a spider-like design. Her eyes, or rather her mind, refused to fully conceptualize what she was seeing. But she knew she wanted to kill it. She was well aware of the fact that her instinct to destroy this ship was against all of her training and sense of acceptance, but right now she could care less.

The _Resolution_ was a dedicated _Prometheus II_ stealth. The weapon's systems were designed primarily for defensive action, although it did have a rather impressive offensive system consisting of twin Gatling plasma cannon mounted above and below the ship. It also carried twelve _peregrine_ II type six naquada enhanced nuclear missiles of two hundred megatons each. The shaped charges could overwhelm the shields of any normal Ha'tak. But the ship's greatest strength lay in its cloaking and stealth capabilities which apparently had failed spectacularly against these–whatever they were. She need to know how they were so effectively detected. Meanwhile…

"Fire!"

Locked onto the first ship, twin plasma fire raked the Shadow vessel and it visibly quivered. Insane alien screaming assaulted the crew of the Resolution as the second battlecrab began its second attack on the now visible target.

* * *

The first Shadow attacker screamed in surprise and more than in a medium amour of pain. Its black adapted armor was burned where the target had struck it. The strike was strong enough to have forced its way through the ship's protective energy and gravitational distortion fields. The pain lasted only an instant, but it was a valuable learning experience not to underestimate this target.

The ship pumped psychic energy into the human telepath connected to it. The intelligence used the merged young one's brain as the primary organic computer that accelerated response time and actions as well as allowed the ship to function more effectively. The race called the Shadows found that using the minds and bodies of the younger races was more efficient for the functioning of the vessels. An average organic tool could live for as long as five–six years before it needed to be replaced. The Shadow could interface with their own ships far more efficiently; however, the connections and disconnects were inconvenient and took time. It was also limiting and the aliens liked their freedom. Usually one Shadow captained one Shadow vessel no matter the size, but that was not the case here. The Shadows were a long, long way from home and were in the process of establish a dedicated colony in the heart of this new territory. More than a hundred were on each of the ships. The alien travelers were setting up operations and many of their kind were needed for the completion of the base. There was a lot to do before they could began implementing their plans in earnest.

A second later, everything was forgotten as the damage turning into unimagined pain. The target was still locked on firing accurately at a range that should have been improbable if not impossible. The thousands of small but powerful plasma bolts bored into the thick organic hull and into shocked Shadows. The screaming both mentally and physically overwhelming. The biological being merged with the Shadow vessel immediately burned out. The human male died with the smallest of sighs. The plasma continued striking something vital in the vessel's organs. Then there was more than just pain. Blackness began to close in on the Shadow and its terrified occupants. Black ichor began filling started filling the vast corridors of the ship as it broke apart.

* * *

Zynatha, the Shadow leader of the expedition felt the screams of her people and her children as they passed on. There was a flair of unimagined hatred and grief. Quickly, she suppressed her emotions away and focused on the defiant little ship. She discovered to her surprise that their work would be more difficult than first assumed. The slashing attack that should have sliced the small ship in half didn't have the desired effect. The ship was intact and returned fire and did something that should have been impossible for a younger race to achieve. The beams burned but the small pellets were also remarkably effective and they forced their way through the gravitic protection fields and penetrated self-repairing armor and one of her vessels and its occupants died. She screamed at the offensive vessel pouring out every bit of her psychic anger hatred, directing it towards the target in

order to cripple the crew.

A sister battlecrab slashed at the little ship once more, using full power but again it refused to fall apart and die. There was no doubt however that weapons fire had damaged it. The target's power generation was fluctuating The battlecrab turned for another attack, confident in its ability to destroy its target. A moment later it screamed in dismay as two small missiles moving faster than any ever seen before missed by a fraction before blowing up. The young sister was screaming in pain. Two of its spines were missing completely and three more were in ruins. The explosions had been impressive and was a grim reminder of the dangers of the small sip. Slashing attacks would take too long to destroy it.

Zynatha called for immediate re-enforcements. This target couldn't be allowed to live.

On the second vessel, the organ computer was screaming from sensory overload. The damage inflicted by the nukes was catastrophic to the ship and it was making itself known to its host. Like the other human, this male was a telepath however it was more powerful. This type of organic was preferable as they interfaced better with the artificial intelligence of the ship. However something unusual had occurred. The human became ill as it continually used its natural ability to track the target. Apparently the organics on the targeted ship were unusual. Their minds were unreadable. Further, the more the human telepath tried to scan the sicker he became. The psychic screams irritated the humans on the small spy ship but nothing more than that. That alone merited further study. The captain was tempted to incapacitate the ship use the remains of both ship and crew for study.

Reinforcements arrived within a minute. Another Shadow war crab, phased into normal space and instead of using a slashing attack it fired a sustained beam directly on the target. The strike lasted no more than two seconds but the quantum based gravitic disruptor blew out the already overstressed defense shield.

 _ **UCW Resolution**_

The Gatling plasma canons, the main offensive weapon of the _Resolution_ was capable of firing four thousand plasma bolts per minute. The supporting Gatling rail guns, firing a mixture of naquada-trinium and the deadly naquada potassium rounds at four thousand rounds per minute were feared by most ships in the galaxy. Combined, those plasma and rail rounds could guarantee the destruction of just about any Ha'tak known. The Lucian Alliance was deathly afraid of confronting the Tau'ri, even more so than the dreaded Tollanians.

"Defense shields are gone," Blakeslee yelled over the din. "The deflection shield's at fifteen percent. That first hit was what hurt us badly."

"Status on the repair!" demanded Commander Alden.

" _We can jump now!"_

"Ma'am, three more of those things have just decloaked and they've locked onto us!

"Activate the drive; get us out of here!" grimaced Chandra. Her arm was broken at the elbow. The ship wasn't much better. Half the systems were blown. The cloak and stealth systems were offline, not that they were useful at this point. Weapons were still functional and were effective against those monster ships but they were effectively outnumbered in a crippled ship. A fifth of the crew was dead and their only chance was to escape. Earth needed to know about them and the danger they represented. "We are vacating this area. Commander," screamed Chandra as she tried to keep her mind clear. Her broken elbow was clouding her ability to think clearly. The ship rocked and continued to do so under a sustained beam strikes. "Our co-communications." Her voice was slurred and fading. "We have to warn…"

"We cannot, Captain," Talia Green yelled. The warning bells had changed. The engines were seconds from melting and the safeties were all but destroyed. "The system is inoperable. Warning anyone is impossible."

 _There is nothing we can do,_ were the last thoughts of Captain Idira Chandra as she fell into unconsciousness from the pain.

The wildly evading ship was struck another glancing blow from the second Shadow ship rushing towards them. To the shock of everyone human and Shadow, the double layered trinium hull buckled, but didn't rupture. The four remaining shadow vessels simultaneously fired on the besieged ship.

A hyperspace window opened and the _Resolution_ was pulled into hyperspace in pieces as beams of enemy tried to again rake the ship before the window closed.

The remains of the _Resolution_ were pulled into the safety of hyperspace. Under the strain and conditions of hyperspace the pieces began buckling. The naquada enhanced missiles added to the explosion leaving little remains other than irritated particles. Nothing remained of the ship and the fate of the United Coalition of Worlds Ship _Resolution_ would not be known for several years. The ship would be marked down as 'unaccounted for, fate unknown, presumed destroyed in the line of duty'.

* * *

Morden, who never used his first name namely because he hated it, was worried because his masters were worried and he could feel their emotions coming at him in waves. One vessel had 'bled' to death and the second one was outright destroyed. An enormous number of Shadows were killed. A third wounded ship was, for a lack of a better word, bleeding all over space from injuries inflected by the Terran nuke. It's sister ship had extended grapples and connected to it and both had transitioned into jump space, followed by the other sister ship.

After the battle the Shadows were silent to him and all of their human servants with the possible exception of Anna. Weapons that had served them for so long had failed to easily bring the small Tau'ri vessel down. Like Morden everyone was assuming that the ship was of Tau'ri origin. Moments before the first ship attacked, a shield surrounded the Terran and effectively blocked the, what should have been, a killing blow. The shield wasn't their primary one but some sort of secondary field. Whatever it was, it stopped the quantum disruptor from killing the vessel. But the weapon had crippled it enough to allow all three vessels to destroy it. The second surprise was the Terran weapon's system was enough to destroy two Shadow vessels and cripple another one by itself in a one to one conflict.

His masters were well aware of the weapons capabilities of the local young races and were wary. The standard Ha'tak used plasma weapons and shielding that were very powerful but there were ways to get around that. Morden expected the masters were going to use the tried and true method of manipulating the locals into fight one another thereby weakening both sides. The stronger would prevail but greatly weakened. However something besides the deaths of over a hundred of his masters had disturbed them. The loss of so many because of a young race's power had never happened before.

Anna suddenly snapped her head towards him. The look on her face was intense, almost frightening. It was if the light refused to shine directly on her, a fact he knew to be true for anyone touched by shadow. "Our masters and their ships could not sense these Tau'ri," she said. Morden was confused by that comment. "They didn't respond to the screams as they should have. Their minds are static."

Morden had no idea what that meant. "The masters can't read them?" she shook her head and he looked at her stunned. "That's impossible."

"They're not human, not like us," she smirked at him. He immediately got the implication. Neither of them were fully human, not anymore. "They've not been touched by Vorlon or Shadow."

" _We suspected this,"_ one of his Shadow master said as it appeared next to him _ **.**_ The huge, dark insectoid spider-like alien tilted its head at Morden. Its eyes glowed with dark intelligence. _"Things are different here,"_ it added cryptically. _"This place is perfect for our needs, but we realize certain additional pieces need to be positioned. Others must be removed before we to begin our experiment. The Asgard are gone but they have crippled our adversaries. This is perfect for our needs, but the Terrans are the adapted children of the Asgard. If it had not been for their static we would not have been aware them. This presents a problem and an opportunity we must think about. The Tau'ri are growing stronger and require weeding out before they mature."_

Morden frowned. The ones who that needed to be weeded out was crystal clear. However, certain promises were made, certain gifts exchanged and his masters didn't reneged on their promises. "Can we keep our promise if we change the equation."

" _You ask a most interesting question. The answer is no. The Terrans have proven themselves more dangerous than we have expected. They have killed ours and we will punish them. We will honor our word. He can have his revenge if he can take it. We will glean through the wreckage. He can have what's left."_

Now it was Morden's turn to smile. The Terrans had shown his masters just how dangerous they were and that was _their_ mistake, one that was going to have deadly consequences. No way would their client be allowed Asgard technology. They could have the scraps. His masters would not make the same mistake as the Vorlons had. The Terrans were about to become an endangered species. He could already feel the plans being made.

Three hours later as the Shadow ships phased back into normal space near their base of operations, a signal was given. Two small vessels took off and headed for the new home world of the Tok'ra.

* * *

Seven battered warships, the last survivors of a failed resistance, rendezvoused at the edge of what was once Minbari space. Each of the vessels carried leaders of the factions of the crushed military along with a few civilian family members fortunate enough to escape the ever tightening dragnet. Enemy forces were searching for them, but not out here, not right now. It was here, in this remote sector where they would have to decide their next and possibly last course of action.

"We don't have a have choice," the General said. He was haggard, injured, and tired. The months being stuck on a ship damaged had begun to take its toll. "None of the governments will take us in."

"So it comes down to either surrendering or taking a chance and try to breach the door," a retired senator slowly muttered. "Either way, it's suicide."

"That's not true. But only four ships will make it. Our other three are in no condition to make the journey."

"I know that," the General snapped. "We'll strip every bit of useful equipment we can from them, every scrap of food and atmosphere. We'll take ever last weapon we can stuff and make a run for it."

"It's guarded and our new shields may protect us when we travel through the door but not against the weapons emplacements. They'll cut us to pieces."

"Then we'll have to plan this carefully if we want to survive this. We don't have much time. We have to start now and my God have mercy on our souls if we don't."

 _ **Carrina III**_

Council member Rana of the Tok'ra considered himself a reasonable individual, however these last two weeks had given him considerable pause and he was in the process of reevaluating that opinion of himself. The simple decision whether to reestablish contact with the Tau'ri had turned into a headache of epic proportions. The contentious attitudes shown by both pro and con factions threatened to turn into a brawl. On one side was his faction, those who were in favor of once again working with the Tau'ri. His faction was in the minimal majority. Council member Kella's faction was in favor as well but wanted to move from their newly established world and find another secretive planet known only to the Tok'ra and not to the Earthers and their allies.

The Kella faction were skittish and had reason to be so. The Goa'uld were aware of the Tok'ra location but as it fell under the Protective Planets Treaty, they dare not attack or even approach unless they wished to feel the full wraith of the Tau'ri and the Ashtorath weren't prepared for that conflict at least not yet. Rana understood that fear because it was his fear as well. However, he felt that staying was worth the danger and his people needed some stability, something they hadn't had for thousands of years. Always the Tok'ra were on the run, looking behind their backs until the last three years. Staying in place was quite a shock and most of his people still had not fully adjusted to the new reality.

Turo lead a small group that were mostly afraid of the Tau'ri but were willing take a cautious step towards reconnecting. Rana could negotiate with them and had which was why they would officially contact the Tau'ri with their proposal in the next couple of days.

Beru and his faction were not pleased and very vocal despite the vote. Beru still insisted that it was a mistake and that it wasn't too late for his plan be enacted and that was why Rana knew he was about to develop another headache because an irate Tok'ra was about to try to force him to once again reconsider the plan that Rana was beginning to hate that much more.

"Beru, the decision has been made," Rana almost growled before the pest could utter a word.

"Decisions can be changed," the male countered. "My sources can make us independent of the Goa'uld and the Tau'ri. No longer will we have to hide or live under the boots of those more powerful than we. We fought against the Goa'uld because we had to and we survived despites hundreds of worlds falling into their grips or being destroyed. Then the Tau'ri came with their mindless blundering and destroyed a thousand years of preparation to make this galaxy a better place where all could be free. Now we face another threat, the Tau'ri Empire who have shown themselves to be worse than the Goa'uld ever were. How many worlds have they destroyed in the last fifteen years, five, six? What was the war they participated in with Asgard? Why did the Asgard give them their technology? What happened to the Asgard, are they dead as the Tau'ri claimed or were the Tau'ri somehow responsible for their deaths? What will the Tau'ri do with that technology? Will they enslave the galaxy while we hide under their supposed benevolent gaze? How long will it take before they develop this technology and become what the Goa'uld only dreamed of? What other secrets are they hiding? We need answers to this questions. No, we need to protect ourselves from the monsters pretending to be our friends."

"Do you believe that the Tau'ri are that dangerous?"

"I believe that they _will_ be and we must prepare for this inevitability. They've defeated the Goa'uld, the replicators and the Wraith. We don't even know how they defeated the Wraith. We only have rumors that the Tau'ri used some huge ship with weapons we've never seen before? How did they defeat Anubis' war fleet? How did they find the resources to build the three so-called Aurora class ships in so short a time? No, these humans are dangerous and have to many secrets, secrets that we must find out and neutralize before we can dare to trust them."

Rana had literally sat down as Beru continued. The man had some very good points. The Earth people had some very important secrets and they were keeping them close to their chests. "Beru, I concede that you have some important points. But we have isolated ourselves from the Tau'ri and some of those questions that plague you would have been answered if we were in contact with them. Our isolation from them has denied us information as well as a valuable ally. But you are wrong, the Tau'ri are not the threat you think them to be to us. Is the possibility there? I cannot deny this. But your way is just as deadly a choice. You wish us to trust people we do not know to give us technologies and weapons. In my mind, it appears to be a trap. You said it. They would give us gifts to resist the Tau'ri. I think your friends want us to fight the Tau'ri, not resist them. Therefore, I have denied your suggestions. I want to know what they want any you have not provided an answer that I feel comfortable with. So, I nor my fellow council members will change our decision. I am sorry Beru, but you must accept your lost in this matter. It is done."

"You are a fool."

"In some ways, we all are," he admitted. "But it still won't change my decision."

"Then you and the Councilors doom us to the predations of the Tau'ri!"

Without another word, Beru stalked out of the chamber _ **.**_

* * *

Inside his chambers, Beru collapsed onto his bed in utter exhaustion and despair He wanted to scream but he couldn't and he despaired. He wasn't his own anymore. His host Kand, was lost having went catatonic in the first few hours of the battle. Even if the Tok'ra could have won the battle in the beginning, the damage may have been too much. As it was now, only Beru existed. He felt a stab of true regret but there was nothing he could do about it now. He was in complete control of this body as long as he remained inside. But something had taken the symbiote over.

Mister Morden had done something, injected him, gave his tainted food or drink… he wasn't sure. But what he was sure of was that something began to grow within his body within hours after his last meeting with Morden. It was subtle and he didn't notice until tiny neural tendrils inserted themselves into the Tok'ra s snake-like body. The parasite latched on and fought the symbiote for control of the body. The battle was intense and savage, with Kand being the first causality. Beru fought back and near the end even attempted suicide but it was too late. The Controller had grown too quickly using Kand's body as a nutrient source. Tens of thousands of neural fibers had infiltrated every part of Kand's brain and Beru's body. Now, it controlled the symbiote and the body it was in and Beru could do nothing. All he could think of was the horror that Goa'uld victims must feel when they lost control of their bodies forever. He was trapped and forced to do the biding of another creature, a parasite more powerful than he could imagine.

Now, that controller parasite was forcing him to inactivate the security protecting his home so that they could enter and exterminate his people and he could do nothing about it except follow orders. The warriors of darkness were coming and he would be the one who allowed them entry. He, the ultimate traitor would be forced to watch while his people were slaughtered. If he could have cried he would have.

But of course, he couldn't.


	5. Chapter 5

_**Updated version 2.0. 6-29-2017**_

 _ **Record keeping: The Soldiers of Darkness are one of the many types of minions that serve the Shadows. The most commonly known are the Drakh. A lesser known group are the Soldier of Darkness. Little is known about them but it is known that the soldiers are for all intents and purposes, and can turn invisible as easily as the Shadow aliens can. But they can also phase through walls. As far as we know, there are few if any images of these aliens. There is a cave pictorial of the alien as described below in this chapter. One was killed on the Babylon Five station but the actual creature was difficult to see as it died from all the weapons fire poured into it. We don't know how many of these aliens there are and we don't know how the Shadows used them. They might have been used as infiltration units, assassins or covert activities where a high body count is encouraged. We really don't know. All we do know is that they exist and have for tens of thousands of years. Who knows, maybe they are the Bverse's version of 'Aliens'. We also know they feed on their victims in a way similar to but different from the Wraith. They feed but they are primarily soldiers...of darkness.**_

 _ **Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book I**_

 _ **CHAPTER FIVE**_

 _ **Carrina III**_

 _ **Tok'ra Home Base**_

The current home base world of the Tok'ra was located sixty-five light years from the Terran star system. For a world now under the Protected Planet treaty, other than the empire of the Race and its two subject worlds, this planet was a lot closer than the far majority of the Terran allies. It was one of several worlds the Tok'ra considered of lesser value.

One of the allies of the Terran humans the Tok'ra had little to do with was the culture called the Race, a species of warm blooded reptilian like aliens with imperialistic tendencies and its two-subject species, the Halless and the Rabotev, also reptilian species.

The Race, who were now commonly known as Lizardians among the Terran allies went forth to conquer the Terrans approximately twelve years earlier and in the process discovered a much larger universe. When the Tok'ra discovered this, they were both amused by the Race's arrogance and horrified that the Terrans had chosen to make friends and then allies instead of exterminating them. Why O'Neill and the leadership of his world chose to make peace with such an alien enemy living so close to their world had confused and mystified them. To the Tok'ra, mercy was extended only after very careful consideration. Given the Tok'ra's long history with the Goa'uld, their confusion was understandable and often resulted in the fear of the unknown. The Tok'ra often considered what they saw as possible but inferior allies, in terms of how much they could benefit from such an alliance. Because of this approach in choosing their 'friends, the Race held little interest to them, that was until the Terrans pulled them into an alliance.

Because of their long history of hiding in the shadows and fighting as the underdog against an enemy that would first torture them in every way before killing them _several_ times over and over, it was somewhat justifiable that the Tok'ra shied away from Earth as much as possible. Earth was minutes away from the Corrina star system by the hyperdrive used by the Terrans therefore, if they chose to, the Terrans could wipe out the Tok'ra before they even realized that they were there. That fear focused the Tok'ra's attention on Earth with almost the same level of concern as they had with the Ashtorath System Lords. In their opinion, the Tau'ri were becoming too strong and growing too rapidly, causing the Tok'ra to fear what they might become. That fear however didn't stop them from associating with the Orbanian and to a lesser extent, the Langaran. Because of this association, slowly but surely and despite their fears, the Tok'ra were becoming stronger, more secure, and more of a true unified culture. They never had the opportunity to grow as a species because until recently there had never been a time when they weren't at war against the Goa'uld.

Formally realigning themselves with the Terrans would go a long way in assuring their security, they had to stop running if they had any chance to begin developing as a nation. Their future on this world was unsure, but the Tok'ra had hopes that they would be able to stay put even for a while. However, they had other problems that need to be addressed as well, the most critical of which they had to focus on was their lack of numbers.

There were approximately twelve hundred surviving Tok'ra in existence. Their scientists and the Orbanians had started working in earnest on ways for the Tok'ra to increase their symbiote numbers and they also needed hosts, willing ones for that to happen. That meant that they needed friends. They were pleasantly surprised that there were quite a few individuals among the Orbanians that were willing to become hosts. With that attitude in mind, it was likely that even some people on Langara and possible Earth might be willing to open their horizons and become hosts if the relationship with those worlds improved.

* * *

The thing inside Beru controlling him in the same way that the symbiote once controlled its human host felt its master's call. The telepathic signal it had been waiting for the last three weeks slammed into Beru's mind like a brick. He didn't feel pain but there was a constant awareness that the controller allowed him to experience at every waking moment. The symbiote was trapped in his own mind, trapped in the body of his host and friend; a host that hid in a shell of his own making. Inside of his own mind, the Tok'ra screamed and screamed in frustration but the human host's body wasn't his to control anymore. Instead, he was forced to simply smile like a stupid idiot. That happened a lot lately and Beru hoped and prayed to gods he didn't really believe in that the others would recognize that something was wrong; but, they hadn't. Most of them assumed that he had finally accepted that the Tok'ra would start rebuilding their connections with the Tau'ri. Of course, that was the furthest from his thoughts and if anything, he entertained hopes that the Tau'ri would invade and somehow kill him but that was a far-fetched fantasy.

The thing inside controlled him completely, but ironically it didn't or rather it couldn't read his thoughts or that of his host's ruined mind. That seemed to be a major difference between his own species and this thing inside them both. However, it was a master empath and could detect the smallest deception. Maybe it was too alien to understand his thought patterns. It didn't matter. Beru could spew his hatred all he wanted, but the creature didn't care long as it carried out its mission.

"Beru, are you alright?" asked Turo. He was concerned as Beru seemed a bit off. "You have not been acting like yourself."

"I'm fine," Beru answered. "I am just concerned with the proposal we're sending to the Terrans tomorrow."

"It's not easy losing is it," said Turo with an air of sympathy. He understood how the man felt. Failure always left somewhat of a bitter aftertaste. "I'm still concerned about it myself, but I will honor the will of the council."

"As will I." Beru smiled wistfully. "If not, we can always find another planet away from their influence."

* * *

Inside his dwelling, Beru sat cross legged, waiting. He had done everything requested of him. He had betrayed the two Tok'ra agents on Kalex II to his new masters and allowing for their ship was commandeered. He wanted to but he couldn't even express the self-loathing he felt for those that he was responsible for killing. The monsters, the soldiers of the creatures he now knew as the Shadows were on the Tok'ra Al'kesh. No one, not even the Terrans would see the coming threat for what it was. With their expansive sensor net, they naturally would have tracked it, identified as Tok'ra and ignored it. The ship was on schedule and so would have been tagged as part of normal Tok'ra traffic, the ship had landed without incident twenty minutes ago so plans were already in motion.

One thing the controller had done was flash an image of the aliens called Shadows into Beru's mind; even the name suggested danger and the aliens true name; Beru couldn't even begin to pronounce. However, the name or the image flashed to him said 'shadow' and that was as good a name as any. What he glimpsed of its image was horrific and he really didn't want to know anything more about the creature's true masters. What he did know was that the controller was obviously pleased because it manifested itself on his shoulder. For one of the few times since he had been compromised, the creature's eye was plainly visible. It looked around obviously pleased but then it fixed its gaze on Beru. The possessed Tok'ra wanted to scream in terror once more as he truly understood for the first time how huge the filthy creature inside him had to be. His entire shoulder was molted and scaled green as the alien thing within him corrupted his own body and molded it into its own natural self. Despite his horror, Beru was nonetheless fascinated at how easily the creature could camouflage itself. No one noticed the creature's presence unless it wanted them to. By its visible presence now, Beru knew that the time had come.

The eye fixed its gaze on Beru's face. It was filled with mirth as Beru tried once again to gather the will to do something, anything to warn his people. It was useless. The creature inside him was in maintained absolute control and as far as he could determine, it never slept. Utterly defeated, he sat down on the chair and waited for instruction from the thing within. Those instructions came quickly and despite his silent protests he was forced out into the tunnels of the city.

* * *

The Corrina spaceport was by most anyone's standard a small place, only three buildings made up the facility including a terminal, maintenance building, and a storage facility. Like most designs by the Tok'ra, it was designed to be unobtrusive. Thousands of years battling the System Lords had taught the Tok'ra to be cautious and that attitude permeated everything in their culture even with the end of that conflict. Other than a few buildings located on the surface, the small Tok'ra city comprising approximately twelve hundred people was underground, designed as a series of interconnected tunnels that stretched for five miles in every direction. Because of their pervasive fear of invasion and to maximize security, openings to the surface were virtually non-existent. The city was accessible only by a set of ring transporters. With an iris on their stargate, limited access to the two-mile deep city, and a location so close to Earth, the Tok'ra people considered

* * *

The Tok'ra Al'kesh landed next to an identical looking Orbanian ship. The Al'kesh design now represented some the most common ships found in the galaxy and other than a few modifications that distinguished some of these ships, the Goa'uld designed vessel was a universal sight. Terran deep-space tracking systems constantly observed those vessels moving throughout the one hundred light-years out to its max range. Despite the cool Tok'ra-Terran relationship, the Tok'ra always used IFF to identify their ships. Any ship without a known IFF or flight plan was challenged and if necessary, brought down. That security precaution was another of a long list of things that the Ashtorath hated about the Terrans. The Ashtorath knew exactly where the Tok'ra world was located but couldn't get near it without starting a war they couldn't yet win.

Corrina space traffic control checked the schedule. The freshly landed craft was on time and the IFF checked out, plus Chenel knew the owners, so she gave it little thought. Oddly though, the door opened but she hadn't seen anyone exit the vehicle. Being pre-occupied with her responsibilities she really hadn't paid any attention so when the crew exited, she might not have noticed it.

After a couple of minutes, the hatch hadn't closed and that was a violation of the rules. Irritated, she signaled the transport. Following standard procedure, she activated her transmitter and called the ship's pilot. "Unr'le," Chenel transmitted.

"You know you're breaking the rules leaving the hatch opened like that. If you do not close it immediately, I will have to ask security to detain you. You know what the fines are like. You know you're breaking the rules leaving the hatch opened like that. If you do not close it immediately, I will have to ask security to detain you. You know what the fines are like."

Chenel was focused on her work so she never noticed that the door to her own compartment was open and she almost didn't hear the other sound. The sound was strange, but the sound of her co-worker gurgling and hitting the floor was unmistakable. She turned and saw her co-worker Cusca crumbled on the floor, a huge hole in the middle of his chest. Panicking, her eyes darted about trying to find her friend's killer but unable to see anything. Her fear ramped up because that meant only one thing. A Goa'uld killer had infiltrated Corrina. An invisible assassin had infiltrated most likely using the Al'kesh.

 _Ashrak! But the trackers should have alerted us! They should have worked!_

She never finished her thought as a large burn hole appeared where here heart used to be and an instant later her brain was broiled by a second shot from the energy weapon. The space traffic controller was last of six to die. Chenel never knew but she was wrong. It wasn't an Ashrak that had infiltrated the base.

Unimpeded, the enemy moved to where the hidden two ring transporters were located and they waited.

* * *

Beru's zat'nik'tel fired again, killing the Tok'ra responsible for monitoring the ring transporters on the surface. The man had died with a look of horror, pain and betrayal etched into his face. Quickly, Beru placed his weapon back into its hoister. It had served its purpose for now.

For security purposes, the ring transporters that accessed the Tok'ra city could not be activated from the surface. Everything was controlled from within in the city. It was a paranoid precaution or a rightfully paranoid people but one that the Council insisted on in even this current era of openness.

Beru thought it was a mistake then and he still believed it. Using his foot, he pushed the last of the dead bodies out of the way. Beru knew the people he just killed. In fact, He'tan had been been forced to shoot him down.

With no one to stop him, he moved to transport control and quickly activated it. The former Tok'ra stared at the rings as they rose to prepare for transport. The majority the people in the galaxy had no idea that the transport rings were flat discs that enlarged when functional. It was a marvelous piece of technology, one of the now dead supreme System Lord Ra's better inventions. It used the same morphing technology as did his own personal Jaffa guards used. The other lords used inferior versions of the technology as Ra always hoarded the best tech for himself.

The five previously flattened rings rose from their carriers, energy pulsing within the rings as the advanced circuitry warmed up, preparing for the massive amount of information that was seconds from being transmitted. Inside the rings a beam of light streaked down and stabilized inside the rings' opening, for an instant the light was too bright for Beru to directly look at. Beru couldn't see what has just transported down, but he knew that something was in there and that it wouldn't be friendly.

Whatever they were, they were invisible.

" _Again,"_ the Keeper prompted. Beru repeated the transporter process once more. Like before there was nothing there for his eyes to see.

" _Again!"_

His hands danced over the controls three more times. Finished, he stepped over the bodies of his dead friends. The allies of the Keeper were already spreading out moving with purpose into the tunnels. He turned one last time and looked at the people he'd just killed and them followed behind the intruders.

* * *

It was a leisurely half hour's walk through the crystalline tunnels to the Corrina stargate and Beru took his time getting there, making sure that he wouldn't cause any undue attention. The ring transporter room was now under the care of whatever had transported down thereby ensuring that whoever entered that room received an automatic death sentence. Surprisingly in this moment of clarity, he realized that it never occurred to him that the city's design was a near-perfect death trap. There were very few entrances and exits and he wondered why he hadn't noticed it before. _Well, it was too late to change things now,_ he mused.

The relatively small underground city was built followed the pattern originally designed by the Tok'ra architect Manasas who had died more than a thousand years earlier. The original design was never intended to be a permanent rendering, but something to be used as a comfortable but temporary residence as the Tok'ra continually fled for their lives. The design had served them well throughout those long years and the symbiotes never thought to change what wasn't broken. The city was built of seven levels and each level had seven main tunnels or passageways with smaller interconnecting arteries that led to private quarters, recreations and research areas. The actual tunnels were grown using a technology that the Tok'ra guarded jealously. Unfortunately, the Tau'ri obtained a working sample of the generative crystal technology due to the small technology exchange completed before the Tok'ra broke ties with Earth. Beru was against it but his opinions about the exchange was largely ignored. It was to their credit however that the Tau'ri were given only the earliest versions of the tunneling technology. Of course, everyone knew this the those Earthers didn't complain and Beru assumed that they were making their own strides and advances like they did everything else. But for now, they were still behind the Tok'ra. Here in the city, their own advances in the crystalline generating technology was obvious. For example, the crystals in the city generated their own internal light making the need for artificial lighting essentially unnecessary.

The alien controlling Beru ignored all of this as it proceeded towards its next target. Passing quite a few Tok'ra, Beru waved politely to those that knew him, but ignoring their attempts at small talk he smiled and waved them off with the attitude of someone who had important and immediate things to do.

Unknown to them, Beru was flanked by two invisible infiltrators and accompanied by a third alien, different from the two, walking with him. He hadn't seen it but he knew that whatever it was, it was the master of these creatures.

The invisible aliens quickly positioned themselves in all critical areas. Main communications had two of the soldiers inside the room with the people there and Beru suspected that those people were already probably dead. The ring transporters were under his master's control and guarded. The spaceport was under their control/ Main power had four infiltrators waiting for the signal. The plan was proceeding smoothly and as planned. It was only a matter of time however, that the Tok'ra would discover that they weren't alone.

* * *

Anise always believed herself a brilliant scientist; however, she had to admit that here expertise didn't extend to the subtler aspects of bioscience. She wasn't the type of researcher that specialized in medicine. But delightfully, she couldn't deny that her current project was yielding results far quicker than she had anticipated. In fact, she was enjoying herself working with the remarkably intelligent but very young Orbanian scientists assisting her. It wasn't like working with the Terran SG-1 team who never openly acknowledged her scientific capabilities. Here, she was happy.

With the decision to contact the Tau'ri finally settled within the council, it allowed her to focus more on her projects. Anise sincerely hoped that her rocky relationship with the SGC and the Earth people in general would improve after the Tok'ra-Terran relations were re-established. The Orbanian scientists liked her and just as importantly, she felt comfortable being in their presence. It wasn't like being with SG-1 in which every time she went to Colorado Earth, she had to strain to maintain her composure around Colonel, now General O'Neill. He was always so arrogant and suspicious of her and her fellow Tok'ra; always assuming that her people would become like the goa'uld at any given moment. O'Neill and his team, and by extension most of the leadership of Earth, didn't trust her, and all because of a few experiments that went slightly wrong. It wasn't her fault that experiments were unpredictable; that was the nature of experimentation. Things went wrong sometimes. They never grasped the fact that she always had the greater good for both the Tok'ra and Earth in mind each time she performed her studies. She did admit though, if only to herself, that some things didn't turn out as she'd hoped. Her failures and O'Neill's unrelenting sarcasm grated on her in ways that she had never anticipated as it was the nature of science to fail occasionally, but their harshness did hurt when she worked so hard for the benefit of everyone. She was trying, really, really trying.

Winnow, a nine-year-old Orbanian girl, looked on unabashedly at the distracted Tok'ra. "May I ask what were you thinking about? Is there something wrong with the experiment?"

Embarrassed by her apparent lapse, the Tok'ra returned the favor. Both Anise and her host Freya couldn't help but smile at the very innocent little girls. The Orbanian girl and her two ten-year-old compatriots, Tennia and Shae, were extremely intelligent and that was the reason why they were assisting her in the current research instead of the chief medical specialist who was away on a deep cover mission.

The children weren't natural geniuses. Their extreme intelligence was derived from the Orbanian use of nano-technology. The nanites stored and allowed t the children of Orban to retain and access massive amounts of information. So, it was no surprise that the young ones here were invaluable in helping with developing a stable naquadria micro-reactor and were also assisting the Tok'ra in finding ways to improve their infantile reproduction sciences. The medical understanding and knowledge of the Orbanians was just as impressive as their physical sciences and the Tok'ra desperately needed the assistance of those experts in the fields of biology and medicine. Anise had to commend the Tau'ri for their success in bringing the Orbanian people into their alliance, or coalition as they termed it. Their desire to bring in various governments and species into the Tau'ri sphere of influence was impressive, almost obsessive in a way but she could easily see the resulting benefits. This was something that she resolved to study more and see if some of those ideas could be incorporated into the Tok'ra before it was too late.

To her people, it was time that represented the enemy. The Tok'ra population was stagnant and it was an ongoing concern for her people who were heading for extinction, much like the Asgard had. According to the Tau'ri the Asgard were never able to correct the cloning deficiency which pushed them towards extinction. If their war hadn't occurred (and that conflict was still was one of the most closely guarded secrets the Terrans held) they still might not have found a cure in time. Anise and her people feared the same thing would happen to them and they were determined to avoid that fate. They knew that the problem lay in their natural reproductive system.

In nature, only a select few mature larvae forms developed the ability to produce more larva. This mechanism was a genetic safeguard which kept the Goa'uld-Tok'ra symbiotes from over populating their natural eco system. When they were removed from that system, only a select few symbiotes retained the ability to reproduce large numbers of offspring. Human bodies, although easily repairable weren't the symbiotes natural hosts. This change in hosts greatly complicated the already complex reproductive system. Occasionally, one could overcome this challenge and become a Queen. Each of Ra's queens had that reproductive ability and produced vast numbers of Jaffa as a result. There were a few other queens, all of them highly prized and all of them were dedicated to the Goa'uld way of life. As much as she hated the comparison, her species could be compared to the life cycle of ants and bees. The insect queen lays the eggs and her children serve her. After the loss and later death of queen Egeria, the Tok'ra had lost theor only progenitor and their inevitable slide towards extinction began.

But with the Orbanians help it was a strong possibility that the Tok'ra _could_ turn on the reproductive systems of any symbiote long enough to produce a few viable larvae and then turn the system off. Diversity would increase and one female wouldn't be stuck producing hundreds of larvae in batches throughout her lifetime. Anise couldn't think of anyone who wanted to become a brood queen for the rest of their lives. And, Tau'ri aside, there were many worlds filled with people that were interested in the blending. The benefits were significant and would significantly increase the numbers of the twelve hundred or so Tok'ra still existing.

From a medical standpoint, the key to initiating and reactivating the reproductive system by medical treatments remained elusive but Anise and the medical team she was working with were making progress. The complete Tok'ra gene map was known for generations, however the complex sequence to turn on and turn off larva production in a (and she hated this word) drone strained even some of the best minds of both symbiote and human. The proper gene activation required not only detailed symbiote biology but host biology both interacting as a single reproductive unit. If just one Tok'ra female had the predilection for reproduction it would have been so much easier. As things were, Anise and her fellow scientists had to follow the slow path of scientific investigation and experimentation without a specific guideline to follow. But the Orbanians were helping overcome this problem and with luck, the Tok'ra wouldn't have to fear extinction by sterilization.

"No, there is nothing wrong," Anise answered. "our results lookpromising. "I am simply contemplating what life might be like if I am able to produce progeny. Would I choose a mate or proceed on my own? Each has its benefits and drawbacks."

Winnow shrugged. "You could choose either," she answered as only a ten-year old super genius could who didn't really see the difference.

"It is complicated," she answered more to herself than to the young child and the two others expectantly waiting for an explanation. "I could use the genetic material of a fellow Tok'ra or possibly Jack O'Neill of Earth. He is an old specimen but once we normalize relations with Earth perhaps I can use O'Neill's gametic material to produce a child or five. Despite our differences I would welcome the contribution of his genetic material so that the Tok'ra might develop better bonds with the people of Earth. History records that such unions were commonly used by many government throughout the galaxy to solidify economic and political opportunities."

"Winnow looked upset. "I thought he hates you."

Anise looked shocked. "How do you know that he hates me?"

"Everybody in the alliance knows that." She shrugged. "I don't think he would agree to such a union or contribution as I believe his opinion of you has changed all of these years. "

"I can't see why he wouldn't be interested," she huffed. "I am not unattractive, and he would not have to be involved in raising our spawn."

"I don't think you understand," Shae added. Even as she spoke she was accessing her nanite memory processors. Reviewing her memories of her family in seconds, she began speaking once more. "I believe that your host Freya has a better idea of what I am speaking about. My father and mother always says that It is not just having a child that is important but it is the connection that people have with their children. Anise, I do not think your idea is wise. You do not understand the nature of human interactions. I think both you and Freya will be hurt if you try this.""

"But I know everything that Freya knows," Anise countered. The woman's symbiote was miffed that she was being lectured by a child. "I have had access to her thoughts and feelings for years. I most certainly understand human psychology."

"I do not believe you do," Shae countered. "My father…"

The artificial lighting went out and then the power to the equipment died a second later. Anise looked around confused by the power interruption–there were so many backups that it was almost impossible unless…that's when she panicked. Her analytical mind immediately concluded the worst possible scenario. The power came from the main generator complex.

The only way it could fail was if someone turned to off.

One of the young Orbanians looked around surprised by the power loss. What's happening? Why is there a loss of power?"

Anise didn't answer as she continued trying to come up with a viable plan of escape. The natural crystal light reflected off her face and reflected the pure fear enveloping her.

It was Freya who answered the children. "We have to go!" The only thing both Freya and Anise could think of was the stargate and escape if it wasn't already blocked off. "We have to leave now!" she said as she grabbed a small experimental piece of equipment, her personal weapon and pushed the girls out of the laboratory into the main hallway among the increasingly larger numbers of people.

Anise was not happy with her odds. Everyone in the city would come to the same conclusion and their means of escape would be that much more complicated.

* * *

Like the Tau'ri stargate, the Tok'ra had seen the wisdom of protecting their stargate. With few exceptions, there was no way that anyone or anything that they knew of (other than radio, gravitational waves, and Tollanian phase shift technology) could get through when the iris was closed. The barrier would open only if the proper code was initiated by those wanting to come through. Once identified, the Tok'ra monitoring the gate would manually open it from their side. It was a powerful, very simple and effective deterrent. But their security had its weaknesses. Beru reached the secured area stepping over the bodies of three of his people. Using his security pass, he touched the pad and but stopped short. The door was already opened. As he went to push the door open, it opened of its own accord causing him to stumble slightly as something pushed him forward into the gate room. Several more of his people splayed across the floor. Most had a single burn mark across their chests, all but one of them were dead except one…

It was a woman and she was floating two feet above the floor. No, that was wrong. Beru saw that she was being held up by something huge and strong enough to keep her lifted effortlessly. She screamed silently, her eyes filled with terror and pain. The more he looked the more he was convinced that something held her effortlessly. The thing turned visible and at its sight, Beru wanted to scream too. It was tall easily seven feet tall with large hook-like horns located on its arms and legs. The creature had large bone plates covering its hip areas like armor. Its stomach area was so thin that Beru wasn't sure how such a thin midsection could possibly support its upper body. The ribcage was expanded and elongated. Its spinal column had what looked like spike protruding from out of each vertebra. The back of its neck was covered with small protective spikes and on top of its head were two huge curved horns. Its hands were claws of differing lengths that extended the length of its forearm. But it was the face that threatened the man's sanity. It was the face of a monster, a reptilian-like predator of ancient times, with its mouth filled with long curved teeth. It was feeding on that poor woman whose name for the life of him he couldn't remember. Repulsed, yet fascinated, he continued to watch as the woman's body withered away. The creature looked to be absorbing her fluids and organs. It reminded him of what the Tau'ri had reported about the aliens called the Wraith. None of the Tok'ra had seen the aliens but the reports of its feeding reminded him of what was happening now. But this appeared different as the alien's claws appeared to be phased into the woman's body. For a moment her pain-filled eyes touched his pleading for help., then the light in her eyes generated by the symbiote died, the thing dropping the withered husk to the floor in satisfaction. Then the light in her eyes generated by the symbiote died. The thing dropped the withered husk. How it had fed on her was unknown and Beru really didn't really care. All he wanted to do was run and keep running but the controller wouldn't allow him.

It made him watch.

Something else appeared literally next to him. It was another thing, another black colored monster that almost reminded him of an Earth spider with too many legs filled with spikes. It was completely different than the thing that fed off the woman. The creature was easily twice his size and its six pairs of eyes glowed with malevolent intelligence. All Beru could hear in his mind was...

"Master."

The Shadow glided towards the DHD controller and examined it quickly. _"Disable it,"_ it whispered to Beru who promptly did so.

" _You failed in your mission,"_ it said to Beru. _"You failed to convince the Tok'ra to join our cause. There are consequences to your failed actions. We are not pleased with failure and we are not finished with you. You will live to serve us. And you will watch as your people die."_

Beru instantly denied the Shadow's accusation. No matter what was happening, it wasn't really his fault, he was being made to do all of this. He mentally cursed the creature. The Shadow merely cocked her head in amusement.

With that, the Shadow disappeared as did the satiated shadow minion. Beru was forced out of the gate room and into the main halls to watch as the slaughter continued.

* * *

Phased back into invisibility the Shadow watched as its puppet leave the room. The female was pleased with the operation so far. Exposure to the symbiotes had taught her how to adjust her phased form so that the Tok'ra and Goa'uld symbiotes could no longer detect them. It was a natural ability of theirs, used to remain undetected among the younger races. But they required exposure to their targets and now that she was undetectable by the symbiotes, she would teach it to the others as soon as the mission was over. For now, she studied the Stargate. This device would be the key to keeping the experimental population contained. That, along with containing and abandoning hyperspace travel would be the key to everything.

Her people were devoting a lot of resources to this grand experiment. Failure was unthinkable and if it did fail or if the young ones here interfered too much, then they would understand what true vindictiveness was.

Eyes gleaming, it moved out of the room to monitor her Shadow minions' progress.

* * *

On level four, Kella and Turo were running towards the armoury, desperately hoping that emergency power was still operating so that they could open the door. Other than standard security, the city's population was unarmed. The people, unable to fight back, were being slaughtered by an Ashrak hit team throughout the city. The weapons the enemy was using sounded like nothing they'd heard before. Therefore, most people assumed that the enemy was using a new type of extremely powerful weapon as the two men and the guards with them had seen holes melted through almost a meter of crystal formation. Driven by fear, the men raced towards the weapons storage area. All of them tried their best to shut out the screaming and the smells of burning flesh and equipment starting to overwhelm the now stagnant air circulating system.

Someone screamed at the top of their lungs, "Ashrak!" before the voice was cut off with a finality that was undeniable. It did make sense. Somehow the Ashtorath had gotten those assassins onto the city and they were killing everyone. It was either multiple Ashrak killers, or possibility the Reetou were attacking the very heart of the Tok'ra. The screams of terror and death rose as did the weapons fire. And nowhere was the enemy seen.

"They're everywhere!" yelled Turo. He was almost out of breath, enhanced stamina notwithstanding. "How did they get in?"

"Don't know," one of the others with them answered. They control the rings, communications, and they have shut off the power! We're trapped. The gate's the only way out."

"We have to save as many as we can," Kella rationalized. "Fight our way to the stargate."

The dozen men and women turned the corner to see Beru standing in front of the weapons secure area. He looked sad.

Kella looked at him immediately saw him for what he was. Traitor!" Beru could feel the mixture of surprise and contempt emanating from him/. "Why?" he asked just as Rana and a few that were with him arrived.

Beru was devoid of emotion. "You should have listened to me and agreed to my associates' demands. It is my fault for what has happened and it is your fault for what happens now."

Rana pushed his way to the front of the crowd. "Get him out of the way!" he snapped in a fit of murderous rage. His eyes glowed brightly as three Tok'ra security pointed their zats directly at him. Before any of them could even press the triggers each one died with a blast to their chests.

The others panicked as the invisible soldiers moved in among them and began tearing them apart. The things didn't use their strange weapons. They used what nature had given them to lethal effect. Within a minute it was over. Turo was knocked to the side almost tumbling over Kella. Both were still alive as was Rana. All of them realized that their survival was no coincidence.

Beru stood impassively while two of the nightmare creatures turned visible and began feeding on a couple of the severely wounded. Their agonizing moans filled the tunnels.

"Sorry," Beru said as he pointed to one of the surviving members of the counsel. "You are not needed."

Turo was suddenly gripped by impossibly strong claws that dug deep into his body and effortlessly lifted him from his feet. He tried not to scream but he couldn't help it as sharp claws dug deep into his host's body. His terror was overwhelming as he felt everything that he was began to dissolve away. He was being eaten alive and darkness was consuming him. His agony didn't last long and his shriveled corpse dropped to the floor in a lifeless heap. Several bodies were picked up and their heads removed. Kella's head was sliced off and placed into a chest along with the others.

Rana was glaring at Beru with a mixture of terror and hatred. He knew he was going to die and there was nothing he could do about it. But what he had just witnessed was almost beyond comprehension. He had no inkling what those creatures were. Like most of the others he assumed that the Ashtorath were the ones responsible. Now, he was sure they weren't. He couldn't believe that Beru was a Goa'uld plant, a deep cover spy. Certain precautions had precluded that possibility.

Beru sensed his confusion and decided to answer his unspoken question. He was being allowed to do that much. It was a final insult to top off his impending death. "I am not my own," the man intoned in a cold voice. "I had no choice in this matter." His voice was a study of controlled coldness. "If you had listened to me, if you had taken the deal they offered then none of this would have happened."

Rana looked confused for a moment. "Wait, are you talking about the deal you tried to have us agree to?" Another of the aliens appeared in front of him and reached out. Rana rocked with fear, shrank back away for it. Rana, rocked with fear, shrank back, away from it. The soldier of darkness grabbed him and brought him to eye level and examined him carefully causing the Tok'ra to void himself. He struggled to speak despite his agony. "What–what is this thing?" he demanded of Beru. The pain was increasing as the claws dug into his chest and stomach. With pain-filled eyes he looked at the pure blackness of the monster's mouth filled with yellowish brown teeth. "What is it?"

Despite the coldness in Beru's voice, his once friend appeared sad as he began shaking his head.

"I don't know what kind of alien _it_ is," Beru answered. "What I do know is that it has to do what it has to do. This it needs your head. I am sorry."

There was a short gurgle as Rana's head was sheared off at the shoulders and the body discarded onto the floor. His head was quickly placed into the chest along with the rest.

The soldiers disappeared once again. They went off to join the others in the hunt.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Record keeping time:**_

 _Komenid:_ As you've said (other than no _Ori_ in this fic or any other of mine, ever) is correct. But I will add that the people of Earth have not proven that they are worthy as much as they are proving that they are taking steps to prove that they are maturing enough to use their legacy wisely. That includes bringing other nations and people in and not starting wars if it can be helped. _Atlantis, Lemuria_ , and _Pacifica_ city ships are part of that legacy. But just because you claim a legacy does not mean you earn it. The Terrans want to earn this and although growing quickly they are still not pushing as fast as they could without have some clue about the consequences. As we have seen in my stories and others, Earth can so easily fall into an imperialistic government no matter how honorable their intentions seem.

 _Arekanderu:_ The Tok'ra. We shall see. But it isn't looking too good at this point. And btw, you have no idea what's about to happen to the Cylons in this story.

 _Anon._ I am getting there. Surprising I need to get into the mood and I am amazed as to the reason why. The human mind isa fascinating mess.

 _EvilTheLast:_ The (mostly) unseen Dark Soldiers, minions of the Shadows were nightmares, almost as bad as 'aliens without the molecular acid for blood'. I think of them as more or an elite force as opposed to a massive army. Maybe they were almost all wiped out during the last Shadow-Vorlon war. Maybe not. There could be a planet of those creatures, or may only a few left. What we do know is that they were soldiers so they had weapons and they fed on their enemies not unlike the wraith but they 'connected' themselves to their victims until they finished eating them.

 _Thepretenderkajarod:_ To answer your review. Oh, you don't know? (smile). I am surprised. But everything will become very clear in amout three weeks after this chapter is posted. I will say that they have a long sorid history with Earth. And they have a particular hatred of a certain General O'Neill because of what he did to them. Some people are not aware so I am keeping it a half secret for now.

Thor94: Beru didn't really cause it but he was responsible as he played his part.

 _Orionastro:_ Hello. Yes the B5 was always in the mix here. Also in the Worldwar series. However there it was always hinted at but has not and will not directly cross. This story is the direct cross. WW is a lighthearted romp so to speak dealing with the Race, Colonials, culture, religion, etc. This fic is the dark side of that version.

ShadowCub said: _So confused is this a continuation of one of your other stories?_

Ha ha. That question is so loaded that I can't even touch it. I will say that you already know the answer because you read it so long ago. The next chapter will make it clear as mud what this fic is related to.

PanchoPistolas: No, Not the Sinhindrea. That's Babylon 5…wait! Ignore that last sentence. But this isn't them. This is actually a canon B5 alien, a minion of the Shadows.

 _ **Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book I**_

 _ **CHAPTER SIX**_

 _ **Tok'ra Capital City**_

A very distressed Anise shoved the two surviving Orbanian children into a side corridor. One of the youngsters had died after being shot by something that came through the tunnel wall. A flood of emotions hit Anise as she found her host crying at the loss as she was perplexed that she felt such a torrent of emotion. She had seen death and had had been in dangerous situations but this was different. She had never lost someone so young under her care before and she hated the feelings that forced themselves upon her. They weren't even her spawn so why is it that she felt so, so lost and yet so grimly determined that it never happened again?

Anise's emotions fought her even as her host desperately tried to understand what she saw. Had she imagined it or had those creatures really phased through the walls? How could they have done that? Was it some sort of device they used or was it a natural ability? How long could they remain phased and what was the extent of their capabilities? Those questions nagged at both symbiote and host even as she promised to protect the panic-stricken children.

Winnow and Tennia were geniuses but they were only ten and eleven years old, respectively. They weren't adults and they certainly hadn't any experience whatsoever being placed in life and death situations. Anise wasn't convinced that they fully comprehend what was happening. They were still innocent children. Unless she could get them to get past their fear and follow her orders, they were all going to die. Like everyone else, Anise was in a state of shock. The Tok'ra were in a state of complete unfettered panic. Any semblance of order had disappeared and bodies lying everywhere exacerbated the situation. Adding to the confusion and hysteria was that a few of the bodies were missing their heads. Making the girls hold hands and follow her, she forced them to follow her. She wanted to tell them not to look, but she knew they would because everyone knew that children always disobeyed their elders.

The three fled into a small corridor and hid in a small closet. It was dark, quiet, and quite terrifying. Any second now Anise imagined one of those assassins coming through the walls and butchering them as they lay huddled in the corner. But she also needed a moment to think. Jankan, a Tok'ra she'd known for three hundred years hadn't even recognize her when she had stopped him demanding information. He looked at her, said something incomprehensible and started running who-knows-where. She didn't even try to stop him.

From the panicked screams and yelling and confusing reports from everyone, Anise believed that there had to be several Ashrak inside the city complex. However, that initial conclusion left far too many questions and the more she thought about it the less water her theory held. No one, not one person had reported seeing the enemy which led her to believe that whatever it was attacking them had to be invisible like those assassins. It could have been Ashrak but could also be someone like renegade Reetou or something else not encountered before killing her people.

The sounds of distant screaming outside had died out leaving only silence. The unnatural quiet frightened her and threatened her sanity. Despite claiming to be different from their Goa'uld counterparts there was one commonality both shared. Both shared a terrible fear of death. Anise didn't want to die. The surrounding silence was almost too much. The two little girls were trying their best not to cry while she was trying not scream herself.

Furthermore, they were clinging to her so tightly that they restricted her movements. In another wave of blind terror, she thought of running and saving herself and try as she might, she couldn't think of a reason not to. Her problem was that if she opened the closet door to flee and saver herself, she wouldn't be able tear herself away from these children' grip if she tried. Anise's sense of self-preservation told her one thing however her legs refused to save herself and not save the young ones clinging to her for support. The whole situation was absurd and she had to use her reserved willpower to keep from laughing hysterically.

Her heart had decided, the choice already made. The responsibility to protect dominated every thought now. Self-preservation had just flown to Netu and back and it was angry. This feeling to protect took command so easily that she was stunned. Now, for the first time, she understood why the death of General O'Neill's son affected so. How could he bear such pain?

"Quiet!" Anise growled at both girls. Her eyes glowed dangerously and both girls to fell silent. Good. They couldn't stay hiding in a closet waiting for monsters to come. "We have to leave this place. No crying." It wasn't like she didn't feel like doing the same.

Anise's hands were shaking as she activated her latest device her Ashrak detector, a small device she had been working off and on for years. It worked by generating a detection field that extended fifteen meters in all directions and the field was (hopefully) undetectable by the targets either Goa'uld killers or Reetou (she was especially proud of that little innovation). The door opened and creaked so loud that she had to stifle a round of cursing learned from listening to Colonel Sheppard whenever she was around him. He was subtle, of course but her hearing was good enough to hear his mutterings.

The natural crystalline light highlighted the blood and carnage on the cave floors. There were bodies as far as she could see down the length of the tunnel, the corpses either burned, or ripped apart. Several of the bodies were shriveled and curled up in rictus. It reminded her of the reports of the victims of a Wraith attack, different but just as horrible. She quietly closed the door and turned to the two trembling girls. She didn't know how to comfort them when it was taking all her self-control to keep from vomiting all over the floor in front of them.

Anise had never known her host Freya to be so scared in her life. She had not complained and hid in the recesses of her mind, allowing Anise to take over completely without comment. That made her responsible for four lives she thought sourly. "Girls, I will lead you to safety." she assured them. "But I need you to listen to me and do not make any noise. If I say 'run', then you run. If I 'stop', then stop. I want you to be brave."

"Braver than you?" asked a very innocent Tennia.

"Yes," Anise answered with absolute sincerity. "Braver than I."

As proud as she was of her device she was also terrified that she had use it. She wanted to field test it but not in this way. Quickly, she made two little girls hold hands and she in turn, grabbed the elder girl's hand and began to carefully lead them down the tunnel carefully stepping over the bodies of people she knew. The three moved as quietly as they could, although the dead silence the footsteps were loud enough to echo in the hallway. Each step dredged up a fresh moment of dread to Anise. In the partial darkness are detector shined like a flashlight illuminating everything around her and bluish light.

"Do you see anything?" asked Tennia.

She looks so frightened that Anise believed the child was going to faint and that was the last thing any of them needed right now. She had to do something quickly or she might wind up having to carry the child.

"No," she answered as confidently as she could. She didn't know what else to do to encourage either of the little girls to smother their fears and face the dangers that were all around. She wasn't even sure if she could do it herself. "We're going to see if we can make it to the stargate. Once we make it through then we will be safe." She looked over at the girls once more her eyes glowing brightly in order to give them a confidence that she didn't feel. She had little hope that the stargate wasn't being guarded, but that was the only hope she had and it was the only place she could think that might offer some hope of safety.

All three continued down the corridors and he saw nothing but the bodies as far as they could see. The detector had not detected anything as of yet which was a good thing in opinion. If she were being honest, she would have admitted praying that she wouldn't see anything. Moving carefully now three slipped into a side corridor to catch their breaths. Winnow was breathing heavily nearly hyperventilating from fear. Anise looked at her, calmly brushing her dusky brown hair away from her eyes. The gesture was gentle and loving and in truth, Anise didn't know where the action came from.

But Freya did.

The young child had started sniffling, most likely because of increasingly stale air Anise assumed. She allowed her a few moments to rest before they continued towards their destination.

Five minutes later, she froze. There was a scratching noise coming from inside the left-side wall. She was intimately familiar with every sound in the City and the sound was like nothing she'd ever heard before. It made her hair nearly stand up on its ends. Cautiously, she pointed the detector in the direction she thought she heard the sound coming from. That was when she saw the alien monstrosity making its way inside the crystalline wall. The detector couldn't quite lock on to the alien, but this is something that she expected. One of the most important features that she had incorporated into her little device was the ability to detect an invisible foe without being herself detected and apparently it worked. She was taking no chances and quickly move the beam away from the wall. It was time to move as quickly as possible away from whatever this thing was. However, she had not considered the reaction of the two girls when they saw the huge creature moving through the walls.

Tennia was trying her best not to cry while Winnow began sniffling louder. Anise almost panicked. She didn't think the creature has seen them but she had no idea what other senses they might have and that include how sensitive their hearing was. For all she knew they might be able to detect vibrations of the footsteps.

"Be quiet," she hissed as she tried to hurry them along. She saw a zat'nik'tel laying in the hands of a shriveled body. She quickly picked it up.

The man hadn't had the time to use it and Anise wasn't even sure if it would work on this enemy. Unfortunately, it was at that time that Tennia decided that she needed to blow her nose.

The young girl tried to hold it back for all of five seconds before she blew her nose loud enough for a person who was deaf to be able to hear it.

Anise nearly had heart attack. "Please be quiet!"

Tennia responded in a near scream. "I can't help it!"

The woman Tok'ra assumed that they were dead, right then and there. The girl was already sniffling and now she started coughing, much to everyone's alarm. All three were sprinting almost at a dead run at this point. Anise didn't dare look back to see if they were being followed and she didn't want the children to look back either. If they did that, then they might see something and both of the little girls would start screaming, and if they started screaming, Anise would start screaming, too…

 _"Stop!"_

It was Freya yelling in her mind, demanding that Anise try to control herself. Freya saw the panic building in her symbiont companion and had no intentions of allowing it to continue especially since she wanted them both and the children to survive. _"You have to try it now!"_

"It's never been tested."

 _"Can't you hear it? It is coming!"_

And she could hear it, heavy footsteps rapidly closing in on them. The alien soldier hadn't shot at them yet and that frightened Anise even more because she knew that whatever happened to some of her friends that caused them to shrivel and die would happen to the three of them. The creature was toying with its prey and Anise believed that it was going to do the same thing to them as it had done to some of her friends. With its long strides, the hunter was rapidly closing in on them at a frightening speed. The little girls could only run so fast.

They were only human.

She didn't have a choice. Any pretense of secrecy was long gone now. Fumbling in her pocket, she pulled out the small ampule without hesitation, she jammed the small injection module into her shoulder. Instantly, the heavily modified attonak virus entered her bloodstream. It was another one of her experiments that she always kept close out of fear that some other scientist might discover her project and trying to take it away from her. The virus increased the strength and abilities of normal humans as O'Neill and his people had discovered. But it did not work on symbionts or the hosts. The symbiont immune response was too strong and the virus couldn't survive for more than a few minutes. But she was working on a genetic modification that would allow the Tok'ra to use the enhancement virus in times of need. But had been untested and it was still in the raw form.

"Keep running!" she yelled.

Of course, being children, both girls slowed down without her to guide them. The woman did not want the children to die and she was about to yell at them again to run. She couldn't form the words as her body instantly felt a rush of power just as a set of claws dug into her shoulder.

She screamed.

Winnow and Tennia saw what had grabbed her and they screamed.

The Soldier of Darkness roared…

…And then it roared even louder.

* * *

"I'm all alone," whispered an infuriated Beru as he was forced to watch the last of his people ruthlessly shot down or torn apart by the alien soldiers. The screamed moved him but there was nothing he could do about it. Morden had to have injected him, an embryo or something that grew into this abomination infesting him and his host's body. The aliens were no long trying to hide now. They were visible and they were methodical. Every main corridor of the city was under their control and in the smaller sections, the soldiers hunted down and killed everyone they could find. Sadly, the survivors were so predictable, either heading for the stargate or the ring transporter. By his latest calculations there couldn't be more than ten people left in the entire city. Both the ring transporters and stargate controls were inoperative but not destroyed. Beru made certain of it. The soldiers and the master had to have a way out before the devastation was completed. The leader alien had placed what he knew to be a bomb in the very heart of the city.

It was an unfamiliar design, organic in its composition but he knew it had the explosive power of a nuclear device. Any survivors here would die when it detonated and he would be among them. The master couldn't allow him to survive under any circumstance. He was considered a liability and the possibility that he might be discovered before their plans came to fruition was considered a risk that they were not prepared to take so he would stand next to the bomb when it detonated, watching as the device counted down to his doom.

Their mission completed, the soldiers gathered their trophies and headed for the ring transporters. Beru went with them to evacuate them to safety. The invaders would leave using the same Ha'tak they arrived in. Quickly and quietly, the dark ones turned and went back the way they came, all but two of them. There were a few survivors hidden away among the wreckage and these aliens didn't like leaving things incomplete even if it meant their own deaths.

Arriving at the ring transporter, Beru easily correct the sabotage he 'd performed earlier. The master appeared in front of him, its eight pairs of glowing eyes glaring at him, examining his very soul and finding him wanting. Those eyes were filled with ancient intelligence far older than anything he'd ever seen before. And those eyes told him that it cared nothing for anyone else other than what they could do for it. Without another word, the Shadow moved towards the ring transporter ranked by two of the warriors. Beru activated the ring transporter and the three disappeared in a flash of energy and light. Another group took their place in the transporter and awaited their turn. They were fleeing like rats from a sinking ship and leaving him behind.

Ten minutes later, there were three of the aliens left in the city to be transported. It was then that the controller's eye opened in alarm and forced Beru to run towards the stargate room. Something had happened to them. Time was running out and the bomb was counting down. If he couldn't find them in fifteen minutes then they were all dead. The hijacked Ha'tak had begun powering up and wouldn't wait if he couldn't find them in time.

Running as fast as he could, it still took ten minutes to get there and when he did, he saw that the stargate was activated; however, there was no one present which meant that they had gone through the gate. All three of the soldiers refuse to answer the mental calls of the controller and he idly wondered if the soldiers had gone through the gate as well in pursuit of whoever had escaped. That was against orders but it was still possible. Some Tok'ra must have enabled the stargate by reconfiguring the crystal control modules and had gotten away. Angered he lamented at the wasted time getting to the stargate he wouldn't be allowed to use.

The controller pulsed in sudden alarm. Turning, Beru was shocked by seeing the body of one of the soldiers crumbled on the floor. It looked broken and there was evidence of several wounds inflicted by one or more zats. Soldiers of Darkness were hard to kill. Seven to nine shots were required. This soldier was shot multiple times. Those wounds Beru understood but he was at a loss as to what could have broken several bones of such a monster. Of the other two soldiers, there was no evidence that they were here and the controller within him felt confused. If one soldier was in trouble the others would surely come to help.

However, Beru really didn't care about that because here was an opportunity for him to stay alive, to flee through the open gate if only he could convince the controller. He pleaded with the controller to allow him to go through and find out what happened, arguing that the soldiers must have gone through or that he could still be able to serve the masters by pretending to be one of the last survivors to escape the attack. He could feel the controller waiver but ultimately it refused. It was more interested in finding the other soldiers to facilitate their safety and escape. He mentally argued that the soldiers could have used the gate the controller rejected the argument believing that they had to be somewhere in the city. Sighing, as Beru turned to find them, a sun-bright light enveloped him and then blackness claimed him. Before he died, and contrary to popular belief, in those instants just before death, he had just enough awareness to know just what had happened.

The city was gone.

 _ **Three days later:**_

 _ **The 26th Emperor Jorpna**_

 _ **Battle cruiser Prometheus variant**_

"Superior sir, we receive a communiqué from UCW command," the communications officer sub-leader Erelwo said. "General orders."

"Pass it to my console," ordered Shiplord Straha."

"It shall be done." Immediately the officer switched the orders from communications to the shiplord's console. Sitting in his chair, one eye turret read the orders while his left eye turret stared at the main screen. Erelwo, looking at his shiplord couldn't help twitching his tail in anticipation. He already knew what the orders were.

Straha had more control than his subordinate in holding his emotions in check, but he also felt the thrill of anticipation. He pressed the switch for ship-wide communications. "Attention crew, our first orders are given to us," he announced. "By order of the United coalition of Worlds command central. We are to proceed to the Utas star system. No communications have come from the system in three days. The Orbanian Tosevite faction on the planet have not returned to their home or established contact. Coalition command cannot communications with the Tok'ra. We are tasked to investigate. Other Coalition vessels are currently pursuing other missions and we are the closest. We will return to our primary exploration duties after we complete this priority. Shiplord out."

The _Sse'ki_ class destroyer was a modification of the _Prometheus II_ class designed specifically for the Lizardian people. It still amazed him and the others by the ease that the Terrans slapped things together with no real idea of the consequences of their actions. But, it worked.

' _Finally,'_ , he thought. ' _We have been given our first real mission from the UCW. The Emperors, both of them, bestow their blessing to us.'_ Even in thought, he lowered both his eye turrets in respect of the Emperor of Home and Home II. This was a huge mission, the first independent, Race only without supervision by the Terran. It was also a mission of caution. The Tok'ra would not break off communications haphazardly. Straha would not assume this to be a simple of inquiry. He and his ships would go in prepared.

"Senior pilot Nignxe, plot a course for the Tok'ra home world."

"Yes, Superior sir," the excitable pilot said.

"Communications officer Erelwo, relay the coordinates to our other ships and have them follow."

"It shall be done, Shiplord.

"Superior sir, course is plotted, hyperdrive is online and at full power. Systems report green across the console. We will arrive in the system in two hours."

"I order it now."

"It is done," Nignxe responded as the warm-blooded alien activated the hyperdrive.

In the huge screen in front of the bridge, the stars disappeared an in its place was a bluish tunnel of light. By all the emperors both past and present, he loved this! It was almost worth the terror that clawed at him when walking through the stargate for the first time.

No one on Home could have possibly imagined that in a mere eight years that the Race would have changed from a world conquering empire to becoming a member of equal standing in a powerful, growing organization dedicated to economic growth, military protection and general exploration. All of the changes were still frightening to think about if he dwelled upon it too much.

The Race's conquest fleet, according to the plan, should have left to conquer Tosev III, known as Earth or Terra d, home of the Terran Tau'ri some one hundred sixty years earlier. A small technical correction in the killercraft designs delayed the launching of the Conquest fleet from Home to Terra. The conquering of Tosev III should have been easy. Instead it turned into a nightmare, probably the greatest miscalculation by the Race in the last one hundred thousand years. Terra was full of bad neighbors with large guns, faster than light capable space ships, energy weapons, and filled with huge ugly (not so ugly now as he was used to them now) aliens with nasty attitudes and no respect for the Emperor.

The Fleet was intercepted before they could properly get past Tosev IV called Mars by O'Neill and his fleet. Fleetlord Atvar, Straha and everyone else was terrified that the Terrans would slaughter the fleet which admittedly was what he would have done if he had been in the grip of his claws. O'Neill said as much. He would gladly burn Home, if the conquest fleet dared to attack Earth. Fleetlord Atvar had no choice but to surrender or see the Conquest and Colonization fleets and Home burn in nuclear fire.

Being the quaka that he was, the Fleetlord ordered him, Shiplord Straha the third most senior Shiplord (and his most ardent adversary) to accompany General O'Neill on a trip, one that opened his eye turrets to this unimagine dreamed. The Race wasn't the supreme power of the universe. They were barely little swimming things in a small pool of water. It hurt their collective livers to think about it.

O'Neill, he, and the others walked them through that wondrous device called the stargate and in an instant, stepped onto the beautiful black sand world of what would be known as Home II. He and his adjutants couldn't even conceive of such a device. Straha was terrified not only of the stargate but its capabilities and further, its implications. Its existence would change the face of Home, but just as importantly it could bring destruction.

In coming to conquer Earth, the Race had exposed themselves to the greater universe, a fact that was made clear to the Conquest Fleet when the Lucian Alliance attempted a pre-emptive attack on Tosev III, _Earth_ , he mentally corrected. Enhanced explosive metal or as the Terrans called them, enhanced naquada-laced nuclear bombs, went off everywhere throughout the Sol system as the Alfent and Kata factions of the Lucian Alliance tried to subdue and completely wreck Earth. The Terrans fought back and wiped out the factions in full view of the horrified conquest fleet. They'd witnessed war on a level that made it perfectly clear that they were not ready to even begin to possibly defend against.

The Terran delegation came to Home and had an unprecedented audience with Emperor Risson. The talks went on for three days and at the end of the meeting the Race was changed forever. Emperor Risson sequestered himself in his private chambers for a week, speaking only to his advisors twice during that time.

A month later, the Colonization Fleet was towed to Home II, By the Emperor's command, a new royal line was created and Subordinate Emperor Runshan ruled that new world, Home II.

The Race was in an uproar. As a people, the species moved slowly in everything that they did, so as the Emperor issued his decrees his subjects were understandably nearly paralyzed. However, Emperor Risson had heard and seen proof that the galaxy was filled with terrors, horrible neighbors that possessed superior technologies and sciences, and who would not hesitate to enslave or destroy the Race. The Lucian Alliance were a band of opportunistic pirates and slavers, the Goa'uld a monstrous empire, and the Wraith how would not feed of them but simply destroy them. There were countless dangers that the Race now faced. But there were other neighbors, quiet ones like the unbelievably powerful Asgard who silently helped the emperors stare towards the right direction as the Race traveled along this new path. But it was frightening. Oh, to be able to return home to Home and had never heard of these horrible neighbors!

Unlike Atvar, Straha refuse to think about what could have happened, or returning into the safe eggshell of ignorance, although he couldn't blame him in the least. What should have taken decades, even centuries happened in less than a year. The Emperor, and here he reflexively lowered his eye turrets in respect, signed a series of treaties with the Terrans effectively wedding (he hated that freakish term but he felt that he could live with it eventually) to the young United Coalition of Worlds government. Billions of citizens of all three worlds of the Empire asked the Emperor why. His answer was simple. The Race and all its people and their worlds needed to survive and it was his responsibility to ensure that even if it meant changing the entire structure and way of life of the Empire. That was a very dark road they had chosen but travelled it they did.

Because the Emperor demanded it and, the Race obeyed.

Less than ten years Terran later, the Race now traveled the stars in ships that traveled faster than the speed of light. They were part of a larger group and they were explorers. Conquering other worlds for the glory of the Empire held much less excitement when the neighbors, as a whole, were very, very bad. Straha still felt that the Race was superior to the Terrans…but not as much anymore. This change in attitude was shared by many the military and the civilians that constantly interacted with the people of the Coalition. The other members of the Race were less enlightened. In Straha's private opinion, he hoped that they should keep their illusion for another generation or two.

 _Lizardian_. Now, that was a name he despised just as much as the Terrans once hated the name _Tau'ri_. They were the Race, not lizards as that name implied. The very name Lizardian was something of an insult. The members of the Race were not lizards as the Terrans understood the term. The Race was warm-blooded unlike Terran species and they had feathers. The members of the Race had as many Terran saurian characteristics as they did reptilian. But they were unique and not simply some Terran composite.

What he hated more was that the horrid name was starting to be used by all the Tosevite Coalition factions. It was disgusting. Worse still, _he_ was getting used to it–just like the had gotten used to the name Tau'ri, making it their own despite its original origins. In his mind, that names Terrans and Tau'ri personified his fear of bad neighbors. But other neighbors that the Race had met turned out to be not as bad as he feared. Others were far worse. But his species would survive.

 _They were the Race._

 _ **Shang-La**_

 _ **Ashtorath Goa'uld Capital**_

Although she would never admit it to anyone, Lord Astartea was anxious about this upcoming meeting. That woman was coming back and the Goa'uld was nervous. There was something about this Anna Sheridan that set her on edge. Her every instinct demanded that the woman be killed. Her every instinct demanded that the woman be left alone.

Anna Sheridan was not like any human she had ever met. She was a complete unknown and now she was coming back to present herself to heart of the Empire. The ship sent to track her transport to her home base had yet to return and was presumed lost given their mission. There was no proof of their destruction but that was the most likely reason why they had yet to report in. it was another mystery wrapped in a series of mysteries about the woman and her associates. She intended to find out who this woman and her so-called associates were.

And, the Ashtorath Lords would destroy them if necessary.

 _ **The 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **Emperor Jorpna**_

"Perform a full sensor sweep of the system," Straha ordered.

"Yes, Shiplord," the younger Lizardian male in charge of the sensor systems quickly answered.

 _Not, 'it shall be done_ ,' thought Straha somewhat remorsefully as it was another example of the changes being observed by the Race's military. Terran responses were taking over the traditions of the Race. Yes, he would again admit that it was, for the sake of efficiency more efficient but he was already beginning to miss the old days.

"I pick up no transmissions," the lead communications male announced. "There is no audio or video transmissions in normal or subspace originating from the system. I now focus our scans on the planet."

Straha flicked his claw in confirmation. "Order the _Grumi_ and _Senyann_ to remain at station and secure our rear. Senior pilot Nignxe, approach the planet at point five of light."

Senior Pilot Nignxe immediately vectored directly towards the planet as opposed to using a more oblique route. "Aye, Superior sir."

Straha nearly sighed. That male was now mixing his responses. "Shields to full, set weapons on standby."

They weren't being targeted but he was playing it safe. Lack of communications and destroyed communications systems indicated some type of disaster or attack. Most likely the Tok'ra were attacked and Straha feared what he might find. His mind racing, he suspected the Goa'uld even though current data indicated that if they were responsible, then it was an immediate declaration of war between them and the UCW. If this was the purpose of the attack, then it was foolish as the Ashtorath were not powerful enough to prevail against the Coalition.

"Shiplord, I report that all space borne satellites destroyed around orbit of the planet are either disabled or destroyed."

"Send a transmission packet to UCW command along with our sensor sweeps and inform them of our initial findings. We will continue our approach to the planet. Continue to focus your sensors on the planet."

"It shall be done."

The Race was known for its extradentary patience, but the crew of the _26_ _th_ _Emperor Jorpna_ were at full alert, a result of their training by the Terran military. Years of military indoctrination had infused them with the Terrans more warlike and erratic characteristics. The Fleetlord never liked how the Race's military was changing, but he agreed to the necessity given the dangers surrounding them. But the Fleetlord believed, Illogically, that when the threats were contained then the Race could return to the way it was. It was a fantasy and both males knew it. But, it was a nice fantasy. It was time for the Race and its friendly neighbors to survive.

"Shiplord, scans of the planet are coming in. There is no humanoid life present. The location when the Tok'ra city is located has suffered a nuclear detonation. The city is wrecked. The radiation profile is unknown, however the devastation extends for thirty kilometers from the center of the city's location. I estimate that the explosion was equal to a twenty-megaton detonation. However, Superior Sir, the explosion pattern is not consistent with known or established detonations. The radiation profile is not within known parameters."

"By the Emperor! Continue the scans. Look for survivors outside of the zone of devastation."

"It shall be done."

"Shiplord, the stargate did not undergo catastrophic failure. I have discovered its location five kilometers below the surface. The area is highly radioactive, but it can be salvaged."

"All evidence indicates that this was no accident. I want all ships to scan surrounding space carefully. Be on alert."

"Aye, Superior sir."

"Send another data packet. Let Central Command know what we have found and get me a direct transmission line to UCW command now."

"It shall be done."

 _ **Shang-La**_

Anna Sheridan made her way up the stairs carefully as it wouldn't do to stumble and destroy the effect. Judging by the tenseness of the audience glaring at her, she was very aware that if she made a single misstep, her life was forfeit. The Ashtorath Goa'uld were a paranoid and vain species, not unlike the Centauri in ancient times. Emperor Catagia and his monstrous eight-year-old son (the only surviving child as the others suffered interesting and bizarre deaths) represented the paranoia and arrogance of his species and that made him very useful to her associates' plans.

Her two Jaffa guards were on edge but not as much as they were the first time she was here. This time, her 'companions' were not being sensed by the Jaffa or the Goa'uld. They learned to move among them without detection now. The lack of that sensitivity would put the leadership here more at ease and therefore somewhat more receptive to her plans.

Once more, she had chosen a more conservative style of dress as compared to the gaudy and flashy style of the Goa'uld ruler. Yet, she wore the colors of power, blue with a touch of purple, the colors of royalty representing both submission and power; pliable but not weak. The Goa'uld would interpret her as useful but a possible threat if crossed. It was a dangerous ploy but one useful to her associates' plans. And if everything went according to plans, a new relationship between the Goa'uld and her associates would be forged this this day. If not, then the Goa'uld usefulness come to an abrupt end before it began. They would be burned from existence and they wouldn't know what hit them before it was over.

Myrana stood at the base of the golden stairway. She was dressed (such as it was) in purple and blue with a touch of gold laced cloth. Her hair style was magnificent aced with gold braid elegantly mixed with her natural hair. It was almost as flashy as a real Goa'uld, Anna thought. Astartea's style was flashier than her counterpart. She was dressed in a pure gold costume. On her head was a solid _gold crown that Catagia would be embarrassed to place on his head._

 _They called themselves Lords but, they still thought of themselves as gods_ Anna mused. They had no idea what a true god was.

A mental touch, just a flicker, pulled Anna's attention from the twins, as she thought of them, and made her glance towards another section of the hall. One of her invisible masters had noted something of interest and when she saw what it was, she had to suppress her smirk. Two other Ashtorath Lords were observing in the background. If she remembered her briefing correctly, then both Ashtoreth and his sister Atargatis had decided to attend this meeting. Good. The only other Goa'uld Lord not present was Anath. However, the fact that the Goa'uld warlords were present meant that he had made a bigger impression on them than she first believed. They were both staring at her, scrutinizing her so she returned the favor.

Ashtoreth was shaped liked a body builder. He was tall, handsome and had a long dark beard that shrieked 'Persian king' stereotype. His clothing reflected that particular time period. He carried a huge curved sword completing the ensemble. By contrast, Atargatis could pass for an Earth human in her 21st period style of dress which she apparently favored. But she carried twin energy pistols, zats if she remembered correctly. Both appeared interested in her, observant but content to allow Astartea to lead.

Anna listened as her associates gave her advice she needed to survive this encounter.

As a matter of respect and deference, Anna waited patiently for Myrana to speak first. The Jaffa carefully placed the chest she had brought to honor the Lords onto the floor in front of the suspicious woman.

Once again, you've come to grace our presence, Anna Sheridan of the unknown _associates,"_ Myrana purred dangerously. "What do you want?"

 _That's my line_ thought Anna. "I give my greetings to the Ashtorath Lords of the great and powerful Goa'uld Empire. My associates have instructed me to bring you a gift as a token of their good will."

Myrana glared at the human woman. Somehow she seemed different, less threatening than last time. "And what type of tribute is this?" she asked, naturally suspicious. Whatever was in inside the chest might explode. It wasn't the first time that an attempt was made by some enemy. The chest was scanned for chemical and biological threats and those scans were clean but Myrana was still cautious. "Your associates seem to want to ingratiate themselves to us so why do they send a servant to us? Why do they not come in person to present themselves to us?" her voice dripped with contempt.

"My associates are drawn to those of power, but they are not fools. They want to know if you are worthy enough for them to follow you."

Myrana drew back as if slapped. "You _dare_!" it was unlike her to be so rattled by a mere servant. Behind her, Astartea strained to keep from jumping up and immediately demanding the woman's death.

"Your Empire is powerful and vast. My associates are few and wary. That is why they want to know 'what is it that you want'. You spoke of the Tok'ra and the Tau'ri. I listened and my associates chose to give you a token of our sincerity." Anna turned towards the chest. "Can I open it. I assure you that our intentions are honorable."

Myrana took a step forward despite herself. Astartea was connected and between them, their joined curiosity forced her to nod once. With a small remote key, Anna unlocked the chest and the lid popped opened.

Myrana stared at the contents of the chest with a mixture of awe and horror. "What have you done?" she whispered.

Astartea moved towards the chest to personally see for herself what the contents were and despite themselves, both Ashtorath lords followed suit.

"These are the heads of the Tok'ra," Anna said. "Literally."

The huge Goa'uld Atargatis stepped forward to get a better look. "I never imagined that I would see the heads of the Tok'ra all contained in a box," he rumbled. There were dozens of curious onlookers trying to get a glimpse of the 'gift' that so startled the System Lords. "Clear the palace!" he roared. Then he turned to Anna. "Not you,' he commanded.

Unperturbed, she merely nodded.

"Either you and your associates are very confident, or you are fools," Atargatis hissed, after everyone had left the room. "You have poked the giant that are the Tau'ri."

"And in the process, may have started a war with them," Astartea finished. Her voice dripped in venom. "They will blame us for this action as soon as they find out."

"My sister is right," Atargatis rumbled. "We have no love for the Tok'ra. I am pleased that they are dead." He paused. "How many have you killed?"

"Twelve hundred and fifty-three confirmed deaths," Anna responded, not missing a beat. "Their city is molten ash."

Myrana gasped as did Ashtoreth. It was nearly the entire estimated population. If what Anna was saying was true then the Tok'ra were effectively eliminated as a threat. The Tok'ra were hated by the Goa'uld, being blood enemies for thousands of years. But the traitors were under the protection of the Tau'ri and any aggression by the Ashtorath against them could easily be a cause for war that the Ashtorath were not ready for.

"You have made an enemy of the Goa'uld!"

"No," Anna countered. "We have no intentions of having blame placed on you. There's no evidence, at all, that your empire had anything to do with the Tok'ra's demise. Any evidence they will find will not implicate your empire in any way. We would never do such a thing since we are seeking cooperation with you and a mutual defense pack against them."

"You mean the Tau'ri," Astartea surmised.

"Yes," Anna confirmed. "Sooner or later they will attack both you and my associates. Their values conflicts with ours. My associates believe that there should be one power guiding this galaxy and we believe that you, the Ashtorath System Lords should rule, not the Tau'ri. They are young but they are giants that should be crushed now before they become too strong.

Ashtoreth laughed. "You believe that you can stop the Tau'ri? Your associates are fools!"

Anna's face darkened. Myrana took a reflexive step back as a shadow covered her face. "Do you wish to cower under the yolk of the Tau'ri? You must know that they will wipe out your people, your empire, and finally your species. The Empire no longer extends across the galaxy because the Tau'ri destroyed the System Lords of old. You have learned from their mistakes but how much time do you have before you're crushed by the Terrans. How long will it be before they become an empire and come for you? We all know that their influence is spreading very quickly everywhere. Your influence will diminish as theirs grow."

"We will destroy the Tau'ri and their allies, crush them beneath our boots," Atargatis said, "just as we have crushed the Lucian Alliance. The conservatively dressed Goa'uld answered with remarkable control unlike her other brothers and sisters. "I am impressed at your confidence but your recklessness sow the seeds of disaster to the empire. You've ruined plans decades in the making and jeopardized others. For that, you and your associates should be exterminated."

"If I die, then I die," Anna said after a few second. "It will change nothing. My associates will move on and find another willing to use our services. You will have gained nothing and will lose a valuable ally. Our resources are vast, but we are looking for a leader. Perhaps we were wrong looking to you."

Astartea looked surprised. This woman was very strange and threats seemed to have little effect on her. She doubted torture would be useful against the woman. Perhaps a few deaths and resurrections might break her arrogant attitude. "What do you want?"

Anna smiled and her faced darkened a bit more. "My associates have claimed a star system that suits our purpose. We want no interference from your empire and in return we will support your wars, supply you will weapons and intelligence on the Tau'ri and their allies. We will help you win this galaxy."

"Bold words from some who hides behind a woman," roared Atargatis. Anna wonder if it was even possible for him to lower his voice.

"Where is this star system that your associates hide in?" asked Myrana, who fully expected that Anna would stall and not reveal its location. Instead Anna anticipated the question and withdrew a small tablet which contained star charts and the location. The coordinates were a fabrication of course but it would take time for the Goa'uld to find out the truth. The sector was filled with collapsed stars and solar eddies and exploration was difficult. Confirmation would not be easy. By then it would be far too late. "My associates value their peace and solitude. They are also loyal do everything they can to help you achieve your objective, but they want to know the answer to their question. 'What do you want?'"

The three Ashtorath Lords and Myrana as one, stared at the chest filled with severed heads and then each other. Not one of them trusted Anna Sheridan but her question was a simplistic one and if there was a chance that her dubious associates could succeed without them becoming actively involved, then the answer to such a simple question was worth it.

It was expected that the Tau'ri would naturally assume that it was they who destroyed the Tok'ra and they would have to prepare for a war in case they came seeking revenge. They could honestly deny that they had nothing to do with the destruction of the Tok'ra and they could honestly say that they were happy about it. It was the truth and there was nothing connecting them to the destruction. The Tau'ri would not start a war without proof and there was none. If Anna lied to them, then the Lords would willingly join with the Tau'ri and hunt these associated to extinction.

"What do you want?" Anna asked once more. The shadows dancing across her faces darkened even more.

The question appeared to be more of a desire than a want and Astartea chose to speak/ "What do we want? We want to rule this galaxy again as we did once before. We want the worlds of the Tau'ri burned to ashes and its people scattered to the winds. We want the survivors to hide in fear of the Goa'uld for eternity and their allies to burn with them. We want to control this galaxy as is our right. That is what we want. Can you fulfill our desires?" she smirked.

"In time," Anna told them to their collective astonishment. "I wouldn't worry about them too much. The Tau'ri will be too busy trying to survive to bother you." Anna bowed. "Is there anything else?"

 _ **Jump spaceonboard the transport Caynon  
**_

Catagia is a madman," Anna said as she sipped a cup of water. Her transport was submerged in jump space, safe from the prying eyes and sensors of the Goa'uld ships undoubtedly trying to track them. They were unable to follow their Shadow crab carrier as they returned to their base. "These Goa'uld are arrogant but very dangerous."

"Their greed and their hatred for Earth will be very useful," Jason answered. The old man was pleased at Anna's results. She could have been easily killed by those thugs. "We'll have to be careful though. We can't trust them."

"True, they are a potential danger and they will stab us in the back the first chance they get," Anna agreed. "But the Earth of this reality is more dangerous. Their power, their knowledge is impressive and growing. We must neutralize them first before we deal with the Goa'uld."

"Agreed," Jason answered. He brushed back his silver hair. "Our associates finally have their forces in play. The others are coming but Drakh are here. I predict that it's going to be a busy time for the Earthers and their allies." He smiled at the havoc that was about to occur. "I have a question. How did you deal with Astartea's demand to meet with one of our associates?"

She smiled–as much as one such as she could. Even Jason didn't share the connection that Anna had with their Shadows. And he always remembered that the Anna Sheridan he once knew was dead and this woman was merely a shell for something not human. "I had one of our soldiers come down. It was quite a spectacle. It raised more questions than answerers and that will keep them off balance. The masters were quite amused by their reactions."

Jason laughed for a few moments. "I wish I had been there to see their reactions." He brushed it aside. "The pieces are almost set. War is coming and in the end only the strong will survive."

"Anna nodded in agreement. "Our masters will finally be able to shape this galaxy without the Vorlons sticking their noses in and interfering."

"The Terrans here won't know what hit them."

"It's a shame really. They could be so useful."

Yes, but unlike the real Earth, they are so chaotically ordered. Fence sitters. Not what our masters want at all. Still, we must thank General O'Neill for helping us discover this wonder place."

Anna raised her glass. "To O'Neill. Thank you for leading us to you."

She took a long sip of her cool water as her transport was ferried to the new home of the dancers in the darkness.

 _ **End Book One. Roads Paved in Shadow: Prelude to War**_

 _ **Next: Book Two. Roads Paved in Shadow: Earth War**_


	7. Book II Chapter I (7)

_**Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **Chapter One**_

' _ **The Past Drives the Future'**_

 _ **The Milky Way**_

 _Space is vast._

 _In mankind's current understanding of the universe, there exists approximately one hundred billion, billion galaxies and each galaxy contains at least between ten to two hundred billion stars. Consider that this is only mankind's estimation of the number of galaxies. The estimate of the numbers of stars in the universe may well be at the low end. The truth is that mankind has no idea exactly how many galaxies and stars there are in the universe. Because of their limited imaginations, and their meager understanding of the universe, those approximations are in and of itself limited. Mankind's understanding of the universe is vast, but the sum of our knowledge is equal to that of a grain of sand when compared to that same vastness. Much is known, and nothing is known. There may be only one universe, or they may be billions of them existing side-by-side yet never touching…unless something happens to change the dynamics of the multiverse itself._

 _There are massive stars hundreds of times larger than the small yellow star that inhabits the Sol system. There are black holes, super giants, red dwarfs, neutron stars, dwarf stars, quantum irregularities, antimatter, and thousands of other phenomena known and unknown to the understanding and imaginations of man._

* * *

 _The Milky Way galaxy is described as a discrete concentration of numerous stars separated from similar formations by huge distances. The Terran solar system is an insignificant part of the Milky Way, a galaxy which is thought to contain over two hundred billion stars shaped in disk-like pattern, some three thousand light-years thick and having a diameter of one hundred thousand light-years. It is spiral shaped and it rotates at a rate of one revolution every 200 million years. The dynamics of the Milky Way galaxy is as complex and as wondrous as the mechanisms that compose the Human body. Gravity, light, energy and stellar dust, are just four of the unique forces that allows the galaxy to exist. The amount of energy required to keep it galaxy functioning normally is unimaginable. Occasionally, these energies come into conflict and results are…unique._

 _ **Cortour sector  
**_

 _Four million years ago, a massive star three hundred times larger than Earth's sun exploded. Such a monster could not be sustained and it collapsed in upon itself creating a supermassive black hole. This is not an uncommon occurrence, but something happened that coincided with the explosion. A freak of nature, a small neutron star with the core of antimatter interactive with the exploding star. An antimatter-cored neutron star existing under the current conditions of that portion of the universe was impossible a freak and should not have existed in nature. The ancient species that observed this very unusual phenomenon recorded it, analyzed it, and tried to understand what the consequences of the two stellar objects interacting with one another might result in._

 _There was some speculation by two of those races that this antimatter neutron star was someone's creation and not a naturalized freak of nature. Whoever or, whatever the reason the why of the star's existence was never discovered._

 _The aftermath of the star's explosion was monitored for generation. Despite those observations, the true magnitude of what exactly happened would not be fully realized for millions of years._

 _But what was known was this:_

 _The universe is a very stable entity. Exploding stars, black holes, and antimatter explosions are all commonplace in the galaxy and means very little to the universe. However, in this instance, something else happened. In a very stable system, instability occurred. It was a rupture of space-time at the very center of explosion of supermassive and antimatter neutron stars. The massive amount of interactive energies created a small rupture in the universe. This tiny rupture was only eight thousand light-years long and a thousand light years thick. The rupture existed for thirteen nanoseconds before it began to collapse. Two seconds later, the rupture had shrunk to two hundred light-years wide and fifteen light-years thick. In another ten seconds, the massive energies that created the rupture had dissipated leaving a small tear no more than two light years wide and half-light thick located in the region that, in the future would be known as the Cortour sector. Those who observed it estimated that this multi-spatial rupture would ceased to exist within an hour. They were correct in their calculations, but they hadn't accounted for several small variables. The most important of those variables missed was that the healed rift had left a small scar in the spatial fabric of the galaxy. Many species flew passed the extinct rift and never noticed or impacted it. Invisible and undetectable, it remained present in the universe, waiting for a trigger that would open the rift once again._

 _In the millions of years that followed, the races that studied the explosion and its aftermath died out, their scientific data lost to the ravages of time. What was unique was forgotten. However, if the observers had survived then they would have seen two events that science could not explain. The first was the complete disappearance of the black hole and second, they could have seen the creation of the Katasi nebula._

 _There was no one to see what happened and what was once known was los.t_

 _The black hole ceased to exist, but the rift and the fantastic energies inside of it remained and, in the millions of years the internal energies of the rift slowly expanded. Tendrils of the 'other rift' energies reached as far as the nearest galactic clusters. Any of the original races studying the rift would have recognized and ultimately concluded that the creation of the rift was not a natural occurrence and its effects would have profound consequences for the local galaxies at large. Some other force, for unknown reasons had created a multiversal bridge. A chaotic one, with no discernible, directed purpose. This spider web of tendrils was responsible for the scores of people, ships planets, solar systems, and even solar system clusters finding themselves–somewhere else._

 _Each rift tendril had its own unique chaotic properties. Some of these tendrils dissipated, some exhausted themselves of energy and winked out. Others were triggered by insignificant explosions or interactions with exotic particles. Battles among starships unknowingly operating around those invisible tendrils were the usual culprits of the displacements. Certain races such as the Preservers and Ashknasi knew of tendrils and could manipulate them with ease. A few scientists discovered these energies, in reality rift tendrils, harnessed them and used them to break the dimensional barriers. Sometimes the tendrils were bi-directional. Some were only directed one way. There were and continue to be many examples of such transference, however the epicenter of the rift continued and remained undiminished. If the source of the energies were born in what is now known as the Katasi nebula, then its heart resided in the Cortour star sector, the Bermuda triangle of the multiverse. It was here where the rift lived and spread its tendrils._

 _It was always there._

 _Waiting._

 _ **Earth year 2005**_

A Terran starship, its people known by much of the galaxy as the Tau'ri, on what was supposed to be a simple milk run collecting a shipment of naquada suffered an event that would affect the history of the galaxy for decades to come. On the shakedown cruise the newly minted crew was attacked by two Goa'uld Ha'tak warships. The Goa'uld feared and hated the Tau'ri because of their continued defiance and their uncanny ability to inflict damage at the Goa'uld's expense. It was obvious to the parasites that the Tau'ri were becoming stronger with each passing day and the Goa'uld were dedicated to stamping out this Human menace before it become too strong. A decade later, their fears were affirmed. But it was during this particular battle that events happened that would lead to the Goa'uld system Lords and their Ashtorath successors to the brink of annihilation.

The resulting battle with warships using naquada-enhanced nuclear missiles, energy weapons, and hyperspace, as well as subspace interactions, pushed the _Prometheus_ class starship into another universe. The interaction of such energies upon the universe was insignificant and the ship should not have traveled between the dimensions because of it. However, the transference occurred because the exotic energies touched the millions of years old rift reacted with and triggered it. As a result, the damaged ship found itself in another universe. The ship's defensive shield barely protected it from the tremendous energies inside the rift but further depleted the shields.

Unaware of the war being waged in this new universe, the Terran ship immediately encountered another fish-shaped starship. The race that created this starship were in a life-and-death struggle against the Humans of that universe and those Humans were losing the war. Identifying the Terran's ships as an Earth vessel with a Human crew, the much larger ship attacked. Unfortunately, it bit off more than it could chew was itself destroyed.

The Terran warship's crew, confused by the attack, and as of yet unaware that they were displaced in another reality, begin their journey to Earth. Their hyperdrive system was partially damaged from the series of battles, so it could not travel as fast as they normally would have been able to. However, in the journeys they discovered a small Human military outpost and made contact. Unknown to everybody, this was a First Contact and almost resulted in a shooting war when a warship captain, trying to dominate the situation, practically fired on the unknown Terran ship. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed, and the continued contact proved somewhat peaceful. It was at the base that the Terran crew of the SGC–USAF vessel discovered exactly how far and how alone they truly were. The local natives were stunned by the fact that such a primitive, small ship originating from the early 21st century could defeat an enemy that had all but crippled the forces of Earth of their reality.

At the beginning, the locals were more than a bit skeptical; however, after hours of conversation and discussion both sides began to realize the truth. The two groups didn't understand how much they were wanted by the enemy ship's companions seeking answers and revenged at the loss of their fellow shipmates. In tracking down the small ship they had discovered the small Earther base. The ensuing fight between the Terran vessel and the enemy ships resulted in the destruction of all enemy ships. This was a shock on both sides as this had never happened before since war began. But the small Terran ship was again damaged in combat, and was initially presumed lost. Several search and rescue vessels found the warship and discovered that it had not suffered as much damaged as everyone had feared. Knowing that the enemy ships would return to greater numbers, the base was abandoned and the small Terran ship was ferried to the largest outer base that the other Humans possessed. It was well known that no local Human ship could survive combat against one of the enemy vessels and those Humans were effectively facing extinction. The enemy had no compassion and their intent was to wipe out what they considered barbarians, those that killed their beloved leader.

The enemy accepted no communication. Offers of surrender were ignored, and it was made very clear that the enemy would destroy Humanity everywhere. To them, this was a holy mission and they intended to complete it no matter the cost. Earth fought back and found to their sorrow that Human technology was inferior to that of enemy. Everyone on Earth and the other worlds both human and alien knew it only a matter time before Humanity was exterminated. But with the presence of this new Terran warship, that certainty changed everything. The technology on the Tau'ri warship was so advanced that the enemy ships could not stand against it and its weaponry. The locals knew that they could obtain the amazing technologies of the stranded ship, the war would be all but won.

Within a day, the enemy found and engaged the mid-range base intending to destroy it utterly, leaving no survivors as an example to the rest of Humanity of what was coming. It was also a measure of revenge extracted for the humiliation and loss of several of their ships, something to which they were entirely unaccustomed. No primitive species should have been capable of such an action and although they refused to voice it out loud, it was a priority that they preempt the Humans from getting their hands on such weapons and technologies and turning this 'training exercise' into a real war.

The captain of the Terran ship offered herself as negotiator to help settle the dispute between local Humanity and the enemy government. It was a useless gesture; the enemy had no intentions of negotiating. Only the flowing blood of their enemies would satisfy them. What they were unaware of was that the Terran ship could see their own vessels very clearly past their admittedly very impressive ECM and scattering fields. The small ship transmitted accurate sensor data to the other Earth ships, feeding them targeting telemetry. For the first time, Earth ships accurately targeted and hit the enemy vessels despite their stealth fields. The initial, devastating strike came as an absolute shock to the enemy who lost a half a dozen ships in the first seconds of the battle. But they fought back and thousands died on both sides.

The enemy quickly discovered to their sorry that the Earth ships, their space mines, and fixed defenses were too much. The enemy was pushed back for the first time. Shocked, and awed, the enemy became even more enraged. They blamed the, and rightly so, small Terran ship which had changed the conditions of war. Their new priority now was to destroy the small ship by any means necessary. Their efforts failed as the Terran ship used its main weapon given to them by the Asgard for the first time, completely butchered the enemy ships it had targeted. In humiliation and in fear for their lives the surviving enemy ships retreated and the Earth base survived against all the odds.

Everyone on the base were exuberant. The government of Earth after hearing what had happened at the mid-range base couldn't believe it. They fully expected everyone on the base to have died and the enemy to slowly converge on Earth to begin to initiate the final solution. The military officials and politicians were more than pleased. Not only had the base and its people survived but the enemy was pushed back, licking their wounds for the first time, and very likely re-evaluating their war effort. This presented Earth forces and the administration an opportunity to change the course of the war and it re-ignited the fantasy that they could win. It all depended on the small Terran warship. Negotiations between the Tau'ri crew and the Earth government quickly began. The agreement was that the Earth would trade critical supplies and support and in return, the small Terran warship would provide some of their exotic technologies desperately needed if Earth were to survive. On paper, it was a simple but important exchange and its success would be a template for more exchanges in the future.

The military grumbled at not getting everything that they wanted but reluctantly accepted the proposal with minor changes. In the final agreement, the Terran crew offered sensor technologies, their advanced railgun schematics, and their ECM systems that could see the enemies through their stealth systems. That was thought to be enough to satisfy them as it gave Earth a better than even chance of surviving the war. They were also offered to _discuss_ their hyperspace drive systems, a form of faster-than-light technology completely unknown by the Earth and the surrounding alien governments, later if the initial terms were concluded to everyone's satisfaction. As a sweeten the deal, the locals promised the crew several warship hulls which were badly needed by the Tau'ri's fledgling space force.

The agreement was straightforward and to the point. However, the situation devolved into a major conflict of interest when the politicians entered the negotiations and added their list of demands. Both the politicians and the military Chiefs of Staff decided that the technologies being offered and the ones already given were not sufficient. They wanted more. They wanted the defense shielding, and full access to the incredible nuclear weapons that the Terran ship possessed. They wanted the energy beam weaponry able to gut enemy ships in a single shot. They wanted full access to everything on the ship and the crew's unfettered knowledge of those systems.

The crew refused. The Tau'ri that their own classified military secrets and were not going them to a foreign entity.

 _The politicians in the military were incensed by the crew's flat out refusal. The crew had to understand that the Earth government and its world were fighting a war for their very survival and isolated crew had the keys to ensure Earth's survival. But in their arrogance, they had the audacity to refuse to give over those technologies, claiming they were classified. Furthermore, they were keeping a promise to alien allies, alien! Despite the anger that the refusal generated the military officials understood (somewhat); they didn't like it but they did understand the crew's reluctance._

The politicians however were, to put it bluntly, unhappy. Members of the political leadership of Earth, especially certain senators, refused to take no for an answer. They felt insulted that this Human crew refused to help their brothers and sisters by honoring some promise to aliens that would most certainly betray them.

The first attempt to covertly acquire these technologies failed miserably. The government tried to use telepaths to glean the information from the minds of the crew. That action was a failure for two reasons. The first reason was that the officers on the mid-range base kept the telepaths away from the displaced crew as much as they could. The second reason revealed a problem that greatly concerned the telepaths/ Any telepath that attempted read one of the crewmembers was rebuffed. Telepaths became physically sick and the only thing that they pickup was what could best be described as 'white static'. This confused and worried the telepaths because they had never encountered anything like that before. This unknown was a threat and revealed to them a weakness that frightened them. They needed to understand the cause of this 'mundane' defense so that they could counter it and its effects.

Other attempts to steal the knowledge was only marginally successful due to the crew's diligence.

* * *

Three days later, a second Terran ship, accompanied by several other allied vessels searching for the missing vessel and its crew discovered the rift and entered. General Jack O'Neill quickly contacted his wayward vessel and made arrangements to meet them at the Earth of that reality. With General O'Neill and the team of SG-1 in charge, more formal diplomatic talks began. Once more, those politicians backed by several Military Chiefs of Staff tried to force them to submit to their authority. Their intent was to get as much technology from General O'Neill as they possibly could. To pressure the Tau'ri into giving Earth what they wanted, certain promises previously agreed to were reneged upon and claimed the displaced ship, its crew, and their rescuers _owed_ them for all the help and supplies given the crew. It was a plot by several senators who had initially made the promise to try to steer the situation in their favor. General O'Neill refused to be intimidated. Certain senators and certain military officers then threatened both ships, claiming that because they were Human ships from _wherever_ , they were obligated and subject to the rules, laws, and regulations of the Earth government and that it superseded any obligations and orders from the traveler's universe. It was further suggested that if the crews did not accede to the demands, then they would be branded traitors and their two vessels would be confiscated by the government as was their right in a situation where the entire planet was in jeopardy. In other words, the ends justify the means.

General O'Neill and his crews didn't react to well to the implied threat and ended the talks. Other members of the committed were angered by the rash actions of their colleagues purposely trying to derail the meeting. They desperately tried to calm everyone down but the damage was already done. The SGCers left but not before giving that government two last pieces of advice.

* * *

Dr. Daniel Jackson, ever the moderator, informed the Earth representative in the meeting that they would not be intimidated and that it would be unwise for them to continue these discussions at this time. Tempers were flaring, and words were said that effectively ruined the talks for now. He also suggested that talk mighty begin again if Earth survived the war. It was a jab that didn't go over well.

Teal'c's, a leader of the Free Jaffa Nation, warning was blunter. He flatly told them that it would be unwise to try to attack his Earth as was implied. He was disdainful of this Earth's technology and he told them that his own people have burned worlds in the name of false gods. His people remembered.

The visitor's threat was just as clear and the meeting ended on a very sour note.

Most of the representatives on the committee were highly upset with the others intentionally pushing away what was basically the source of Earth's salvation. The others were unrepentant and believe they had the right to do whatever was necessary to defend their planet, even if it meant taking the travelers vessels by force for the greater good of their Earth, not what they considered some primitive upstart planet's foolish concept of honor towards alien allies that would most certainly betray them sooner or later.

As the public officials argued among themselves, other covert agencies in the Earth government decided to initiate their own secret contingency plans. Several groups of covert operatives forced their ways into the Tau'ri vessels. Their mission was to commandeer the ships, and capture and aggressively interrogate the crews whom they considered traitors to Humanity. Several of General O'Neill's crew were killed as both sides fought inside the ships. By order of General O'Neill. both ships initiated the failsafe protocol and the infiltrators were spaced via transporter. That very advanced and highly classified piece of technology was kept secret from the Earth government in fear that the revelation of such technology would become an overwhelming temptation which would have resulted in the same action that got the infiltrators spaced.

At the same time, the conspirators gave false orders to space-borne Earth defense forces to detain both ships and the crews crew on the pretense that they had threatened war against the Earth. Some military commanders in orbit immediately targeted two crews and the Ha'tak. The generals and commanders were receiving trajectory orders either to fire or stand down. Most were unsure of what to do but they did continue to try to surround the three ships. But they were also terrified of firing because they knew what those small ships were capable of.

Meanwhile on Earth, senior military staff tried to talk their own ships' captains down to keep them from firing on the Terran warships but the conflicting orders served only to aggravate the situation.

General O'Neill had had enough. He opened communications directly to the head to the Earth government located in Geneva Switzerland. He informed them that he was leaving and taking his ships and his crew, and they would brook no opposition whatsoever. If any ships dared to attack his two vessels or his allied ship, he would personally launch several two gigaton nuclear missiles at the very heart of Earth's government.

This ultimatum generated chaos throughout the entirety of Earth's government. The words spread like wildfire. People from senators to janitors scrambled for bomb shelters with every single one of them wondering if they could get to the shelters in time and if said shelters could withstand several multi-gigaton bombs on top of their heads. Many people thought O'Neill was a madman but not the President. She saw him for what he was, a man who had no connection to her Earth and was willing to do anything to insure the safely of his people even if it meant killing millions of people in the process. There was no use fleeing for some perceived shelter that wasn't designed to protect against gigaton level detonations. All she could do was plead for him not to use them and plead to her own forces to come to their senses, listen to her orders, and leave his ships alone. This debacle was a low point in a very dark time presidency and the survival of Earth.

During the panic. O'Neill, using the sensor and communications suites tracked down and publicly expose the conspirators hidden inside the government while the current president tried her best to calm everyone down. The senators and leaders involved in the attempted takeover of the ships were exposed via their communications and compromised computer files to the entire world. During the confusion, the three vessels escaped from Earth orbit without firing a shot. The unseen Jaffa escorts, cloaked and waiting at the edge of the star system returned with them through the rift. There was no more contact with that alternate Earth.

But the rift remained.

* * *

Two years later, an ancient species came through the rift. The collective long had dreams of breaching the barrier of time and space, to touch the face of God and in doing so, become gods themselves. The rift didn't bring them face to face with God but they were pleased at what they saw and planned to impose their will upon the galaxy. This ancient race immediately encountered the Asgard. They were impressed but considered the Asgard a powerful although immature, middle-level race striving to become a First One and still in need of guidance. Certain changes were demanded if the Asgard were to be allowed to walk the paths of enlightenment. The ancient species insisted that if they were to establish true and stable orderly system in this new galaxy, Earth and his people had to be removed.

The Humans of that world represented chaos and the ancient species abhorred chaos. The Humans of that planet Earth, would most certainly interfere with the Vorlon vision of the galaxy. Any world that was touched by the so-called Terrans was to be destroyed to minimize the potential damage. The elder race didn't want any trace of the Terrans' influence to contaminate their plans.

It wasn't even a question to be discussed. The Asgard immediately rejected their overtures as the Vorlons expected they would. Both sides recognized the truth that they were diametrically opposed to each other.

The elder race went to war against the Asgard expecting a hard-fought but ultimately easy victory. But they encountered fierce resistance from the Asgard and their fledgling Earth allies. It was called the Five-Day War by the Terrans. In those five days, the elder race was driven back but the price to do so was astronomical. Six inhabited worlds were lost.

The Asgard and Earth forces fought back using everything they had all but wiping out the invaders huge armada. Only a few of the Vorlons' armada managed to flee back through the rift never to return, however, the damage was catastrophic. The last planet to be utterly destroyed and rendered uninhabitable was the Asgard's new home world, located in the Milky Way galaxy. After the replicator war, the Asgard survivors relocated from their galaxy to the Milky Way. Somehow, the elder race got through the planetary shield before the Asgard could counter the strike. Many of the Asgard people were killed before the elder race fled from the vicious retaliation that both the Asgard and Earth forces inflicted upon them.

During the last battle, the Terran ship _Prometheus_ was struck several times by Vorlon energy weapons. The ship was damaged, its hyperdrive was knocked out of alignment, and the ship was forced to stop in the previously unexplored Cyrannus star system to affect repairs. It was there they discovered that the system was inhabited and they met the people of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol for the first time. First contact did not go well as a could have. After shots were fired, _Prometheus_ escaped and returned to Earth, leaving behind a confused and angry group of previously unknown humans in its wake.

The Vorlons escaped through the rift and were relieved. But the fighting wasn't over yet. What the elder race didn't understand or take into consideration was that the Asgard weren't ones to allow such devastation to go unpunished. It was inconceivable to them that arrogant middle race dared consider coming to home world seeking revenge so they were unprepared for what happened next. The remnant of the Asgard fleet went through the rift in pursuit and turned the enemy's home world into expanding molten rock.

It shouldn't have been possible for a younger race to wreck such havoc, or so the Vorlons believed. They could not conceive of such a loss. After such death and destruction, the survivors wisely decided not to retaliate. They had enough of war with aliens from other dimensions. Their first war millions of years earlier almost brought disaster to them and their galaxy, and almost caused the extinction of their people. With the ignominious defeat that most bitter lesson was remembered now. And lesson happened high. With this defeat, no longer were they a great power. The great Vorlon Empire was no more. It had just become another footnote in the history of the universe.

Gathering the few survivors of their race they left for the rim. Only a few of the aliens chose to remain behind to watch and see what the galaxy would become. Most didn't care. The Vorlon known as Kosh didn't care if the young races all burned either. He was just curious to see how events would unfold.

Asgard probes were brought in to monitor the rift, but with an almost total loss of the Asgard civilization and the massive rebuilding required for them to regenerate their civilization for a second time (the first being rebuilt after the replicator war ravaged their galaxy) those probes were left unattended and unmonitored. The Terrans should have monitored the probes, but war and events force their attention elsewhere. The Asgard had requested that their survival be kept secret as they were rebuilding their civilization and their people. As in another universe, the Asgard ultimately chose to combine their DNA with Human DNA to create an inferior version of an Asgard Human hybrid. The hybrid's brain capacity was not as advanced as the clone versions but they were hardy, and able to reproduce. The price was that the Asgard couldn't transfer their minds into new clones. They couldn't retain the vast stores of knowledge that they once took for granted. Their life spans were now limited and they could no longer walk around naked without problems arising that were never considered before. The old Asgard came to an end and in its place, was a new, young thriving race stepping into the universe once more. They needed time to learn once more but they survived and Earth was happy and all the better for it.

In the midst of all this change, once again, what should have kept an eye on was ignored.

* * *

The events that occurred after the Vorlon home world was destroyed in the other universe was just as devastating to the locals. In that galaxy, the death of billions of Vorlons sent the local races into psychic spasms. On every inhabited world for a thousand light years from the epicenter, thousands of genetically tampered beings died as their brains hemorrhaged. Millions went insane and billions more suffered debilitating migraines. Four percent of the population suffered strokes, but eventually it passed. The psychic screams were also heard in the darkness by something else. The Shadows awoke from the deep slumber surprised by what they felt and they were pleased. Without Vorlon interference, they were free to do as they would. When they discovered the rift, it opened new possibilities and so they planned.

Note:The event describe are similar but NOT exactly what happened in Consequences of Actions and what would have happened. The Vorlon Asgard war is different as well as the meeting of the Prometheus with the Colonies. It is a variation. Also for some, you may recognize the Cortour system and the Katasi nebula. This is a multiversal entity that exists in many realities in one form or another. It is responsible for so many space ship displacements, etc, everywhere. If a ship or person finds him or herself in another place, it is likely due to some interaction with a rift tendril. The rift is the very heart of the tendrils and are a continual source of pains in the butt transferals everywhere.

Thank you for reading


	8. Chapter 8

_**Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **Chapter Two**_

 _ **Cyrannus Star System–Earth Date: December 2020**_

 _ **Planet Caprica, Caprica City**_

 _ **(Earth Time 1:35 AM)**_

 _ **Four Months post Tok'ra attack**_

Sixty-seven-year-old Richard Adar, three term President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol was sound asleep when the first nuclear bomb detonated a half mile above the surface, forty-five miles west of one of the most densely populated cities on the planet, so being asleep, he didn't see the flash that lit up his bedroom in an ugly, whitish light. It was the deep rumbling vibrating the Presidential residence that woke him. Like so many others, he'd never personally experienced an actual detonation, but he didn't have to witness one to know what had just happened. He used to be the President, by the gods! All those demonstrations of nuclear power coupled with the responsibility to destroy with a flick of his finger was enough to frighten any sane person. It was this cold, constant fear of having to go to war with the Cylons that gave him ulcers at night. He hated them, but he didn't want to go to war with them either because he didn't think he could live with the aftermath of billions of people dead, wounded and suffering from radiation poisoning, starvation, loss and who knew what else war would bring. He was pragmatic though. The Cylons were machines with no concept of what it was to live. They could only survive and that was the difference between living beings and a machine. Living life and simply surviving were contradictory terms and this was the reason Humanity would always be at war with the so-called _intelligent_ machines. This constant weight on his soul and that continuing raw fear caused a barely conscious man to become wide awake and in full control of his faculties in less than ten seconds after the residence began shaking.

Adar quickly turned towards his wife Mathia, shaking her violently, forcing her awake–gods, she was a heavy sleeper! –when the entire night sky turned to daylight as another mushroom cloud appeared somewhere west of the first one. A rumble stronger than the earlier one shook the building once again. The shaking lasted longer this time and several panes of the reinforced, bullet-proof glass windows splintered in their frames. Walls cracked and crumble as plaster, wood structuring suffered under the stress.

His wife's eyes barely opened in confusion when the bedroom door was literally kicked open by Presidential security personnel. Three men and a woman entered. All of them were continually scanning the room looking for possible intrusion as they literally grabbed the soon-to-be ex-president and his wife.

"Come with us, sir."

Their expressions were so serious, Adar didn't even think of resisting.

The four large security personnel unceremoniously grabbed the President and his wife and man-handled them towards the door and to the private elevator that would take them a mile underneath the Presidential mansion. Adar and his wife were still in their bed clothes, but it barely mattered as the horror of a nuclear flash directly over Caprica City seemed imminent. The rush towards the elevator was a nightmare that he'd never forget. His wife, still confused and being rushed to safety was too much in her half -wakened state. She was screaming. Personnel throughout the building were running around confused as to where to go and what was happening. Regular illumination was gone, replaced by regular lighting which only served to increase overall panic.

All of them were ignored by the Presidential group as the lead security in command punched in the security codes. The elevator opened immediately, and the half dozen people quickly stepped inside. The elevator descended some twenty stories below the home while all the while Adar yelled for answers.

His first questions were of upmost concern. "How bad is it? Is President Goesel safe?" he all but demanded. Antonius Goesel had just won a hard-fought election and as President-Elect was slated to take over the duties of the Presidency in less than thirteen days. "Did he and his family get to the shelters in time?"

The security detail was silent as they weren't informed about everything. But they did offer some information.

"The city of Meletis was hit ten minutes ago," Agent Knight gruffly said. Although the voice held no emotion, Adar saw the rage in her eyes. "President-Elect Goesel and most of the Cabinet-Elect were there when the bomb went off." There was a moment of silence. "You're still the President of the Twelve Colonies, sir."

"My gods. I thought we were prepared for a Cylon attack. How did they get through our defenses, or was it terrorists?"

"I don't know, Mister President."

The Colonial defenses were upgraded significantly since the aborted Cylon cyber-attack was discovered and nearly started an intergalactic war years earlier. The infiltration code that would have crippled the Colonial military was discovered days before its activation. With its discovery, the Cylon plan to cripple the Colonials' military and then wipe out the Colonial population was thwarted. The debacle went public two days later and the population went crazy. The calls for war were nearly irresistible and Adar was almost forced to retaliate using the full force of the Colonial Defense forces in a devastating counterattack against the Cylons. Fortunately, cooler heads on Caprica and Picon prevailed against the religious insanity of Gemenon and the overt hostility of Sagittaron people that were screaming for war. However, the damage was done and the once, almost lapsed attitude against the Cylons turned into something deadlier.

Until a few minutes ago, there existed a state of cold war status between the Cylon nation and the Colonies of Kobol. Each were in a heightened state ever since with both sides playing cat and mouse with one another near their borders. Despite their fear and hatred of each other, neither side had aggressively attacked one another, despite some serious provocations originating from both sides.

 _Apparently_ thought Adar, _the cold war just went hot. How many people have died already?_

"I don't have much information, sir," Agent Rinhardi answered. "The only thing we know so far is that at least four nukes hit the surrounding suburbs close enough to make the city feel it. But nothing's hit the city proper," he finished while struggling not to add the words _not yet_. "You will be briefed by Colonial Command when we arrive at our destination. What I do know is that the radiation profile is a lot less pronounced than expected. Initial reports suggest that they may using some type of clean bomb."

"Clean nukes?" asked Adar. "That's impossible. Are the Cylons using neutron bombs of some sort?" Even as he asked the question, he knew the answer to that question better than his protectors. Hydrogen, uranium, or plutonium based weaponry were all dirty in one form or another. Unless it was something new that the Cylons developed, there really was no such thing as a clean bomb. The military had drilled that little truth into his psyche.

Adar didn't ask any more questions because his wife demanded attention. She was fully awake and demanding answers from him that he didn't have, and she wouldn't accept. Anything he said only made things worse. So, he remained silent which only served to make things tenser.

It took another two minutes before they small group reached the uppermost level of the huge underground bunker that was rapidly filling up with military and civilian officials, specialists, scientists, and technicians. Still clad in their sleepwear, the President and First Lady were somewhat self-conscious but most of those in the room, out of respect, avoided looking directly at them. Two officials came over quickly and provided some outerwear which were gratefully accepted.

"What's the status?" Adar asked, now in full Presidential mode. "How many ships have they allocated?"

"We don't have that information yet, sir," one of the commanders answered quickly.

"Sir, we need to get you to the Athena Complex, now." The lead agent said as he and his team surrounded and almost shoved the President and First Lady through another secured door leading to an underground sub-railway unit that would take them to military base Athena One, the most secure bunker on the planet some twenty minutes away and two miles deeper than the bunker.

 _ **Warstar Zeus**_

"Break off Destroyer Group Persiades. Have them support our left flank!"

Those cruisers couldn't be allowed to hit Picon again, Admiral Tyslo Nagala didn't focus on the loss of the battlestar _Atrum_ to the beam weapons that gutted her and killed her entire crew just a few seconds ago. He didn't dare allow it to distract him as he was too busy trying to save one of the premier battlestar groups from being wiped out in this surprise attack.

The enemy appeared from nowhere and wreaked havoc on the unprepared Colonial fleet, until three hours ago the idea of an attack force penetrating and striking at the heart of Colonial defenses was unimaginable. Every single defense corridor was bypassed with impunity and the enemy made the most of it. Eight out of the fifteen capital battlestars had been caught in a crossfire and cut to pieces by energy beams no less. "They are authorized to use nuclear ordnance both tactical and anti-capital at their discretion, have Gunstar group Radance support them and keep those fighters from breaking through. That is their priority."

The gunstars, and cruisers were not faring much better against the larger capitals, but surprisingly against the smaller ships it was another story. The enemy used some type of energy shielding, or as many had nicknamed the blisters because of their shape, to protect themselves but massed Colonial firepower could blow through their shields given time. As usual though, time was the enemy. It took three CDF ships pitted against one of the of the enemy vessels to take said ship out, but the price was appalling. The losses they were experiencing was completely unacceptable and any rational military leader would have left the field long ago with whatever was left of his forces.

Except, there was no place to go. The enemy had struck the very heart of the Colonial system meaning that there was no retreating from the fight. If they did, then the consequences of those actions were too appalling to even contemplate. The enemy would establish orbital supremacy over Picon and Caprica and nuke the planets' population into submission. Scorpia hadn't suffered any attacks but all reports indicated that the enemy was massing for a strike.

He dared not dwell on that, he couldn't be at this moment. He trusted his commanders to do what was necessary to protect those worlds. What disturbed Nagala the most was the advances in weapons technology both offensive and defensively _. The Cylons had energy shields!_

That was undoubtedly the first surprise in a nasty series of shocks that every commander and officer was slapped with. _The Cylons had energy shields and what did we need to get through them?_ The Cylons had broken the cold war stalemate and had finally attacked with a vengeance after forty-six years of festering hatred. During those first few hours of confusion and unconfirmed reports it was obvious to everyone who was attackers were.

In another few hours, it was obvious that _everyone's_ assumption was completely and utterly wrong.

Nagala almost wished it had been the toasters. His fleet was being cut apart at range making it painfully obvious that this haphazard, defensive approach wasn't working. The lines needed to be redressed and quickly as the defenses were too uncoordinated to be effective. "To all ships of the Ninth fleet, call back to position Archimedes. Repeat, fall back to position Archimedes. Acknowledge Actual."

The confirmations started coming in. Colonial battlestars began falling back in order firing missiles, primary and secondary armaments saturated the space between them and the advancing enemy. The _Minoan_ class battlestar _Handros_ shook violently as another series of beam weapons that Nagala had come to hate slashed across its port side. Crippled by the strike the Colonial ship countered with alpha missile strike. A few seconds later the stunned and demoralized Colonials watched as the enemy vessel eased out of the nuclear fire unscathed, half of the missiles couldn't lock onto the target going off course and the few that got close enough were either shot down or deflected by the energy blister. But the missiles that got through apparently had some effect as the enemy's ECM failed. Finally, able to see their enemy, the Colonials' main guns spoke again, supported by missiles from two gunstars and a strikestar. The large shells crashed into the enemy shields warship dead on and this time, the shields flickered for a second before sparkling like an electric arc, the shield collapsed allowing Colonial main guns to shred the thick crystalline armor. Several small explosions were seen coming from the damaged ship as it slowed down and started to turn to move away from the battle, unbelievably it still survived even after enduring such brutal punishment.

It was a short-lived victory. Before the battlestar could capitalize on its enemy's weakness several enemy gunboats joined in the defense of its fellow warship, attacking the wounded battlestar with nuclear missiles, neutron based laser and fusion particle beams, cutting the now helpless to pieces. The besieged vessel died in a series of intense explosions, killing all hands as its weapons stores and fuel storage cooked off before the crew could even begin to evacuate. The Colonial cruisers and destroyers, unable to do anything for their dead comrades fell back but not before they got a solid sensor reading on the damaged enemy warship.

Another gunstar, already damaged by enemy fire suffered catastrophic engine failure, the oxygen-fueled fires spreading so throughout the superstructure that it took barely a minute for the tylium fueled flames to melt through protective bulkheads, Nagala heard the screams from the doomed crew as they begged for assistance from their fellow ships. Two, perhaps three, Nagala couldn't tell, escape pods made it out. For the rest of the crew there were only agonized screams coming from communications that suddenly turned to static then silence as the gunstar crumbled into itself and then blew itself into fragments. The enemy gunships didn't even pause in their advance as they took out the pods.

" _Pegasus_ Actual," Nagala yelled over the wireless over the increasing din. The noise in CnC was so loud that he could barely hear himself think, alarms and emergency sirens blared for attention, communications were almost overwhelmed with reports coming in. Two of the _Zeus'_ engines were inoperable, destroyed by those energy beams which no one was sure were lasers or not.

"The Ninth fleet is pulling back to your position. You have to hold them before they hit Picon again."

" _Understood,"_ Admiral Helena Cain answered immediately. _"I must inform you that Picon military and civilian targets were hit by several small nukes. They've hit us twice using their strange jump drives, coming out on top of us. Their exit tunnel is deadly to our ships and will rip us apart in their wakes, you must keep the fleet mobile and evasive. A static defense will leave us vulnerable, but it takes them time and energy to decelerate. So, we have a small window of opportunity there to attack."_

"I've seen that tactic. We're passing that info to all ships and Home Command; all signs indicate that they want to incapacitate and takeover our shipyards. You must protect them at all costs, if they destroy them we won't have a chance in Hades to fight back effectively." He yelled through communications trying to make himself be heard. "Cain, the Seventh, Third and Fourth heavy squadrons were attacked first, they knew where to hit us, so they've been planning this for very long time." He grimaced at the thought of losing a fifth of the fleet before they even knew we were in a fight. "Commander Adama used a short-ranged jump to hit an enemy formation from behind, they have shields but a spread of nukes from behind can overwhelm them."

 _"The blisters aren't the only problem,"_ Cain said. He could see her ship vibrate from a strike, probably nuclear. " _That crystalline layer over their ships armor is almost as strong as their shields. Their capitals can take on three battlestars and come out the winner, the only weakness we've seen so far is to hit them hard and fast from behind._

"We can use Adama's technique a few times to hit them back. Cain, we need to find more weakness, or they'll burn us out of the sky."

" _Not on my watch,"_ Cain hissed. _"Did Adama survive?"_

"The _Galactica's_ starboard bay was cut apart like cheese just before she jumped. I don't know if she made it. Adama did take out two of their destroyers by hitting them at point blank range, seems their ECM couldn't protect them from that distance."

" _Understood."_ The _Galactica_ was an old ship, the probability that it survived was remote at best. But it was also true that the commander was tough and if anyone could survive this, then it would be him. Yes, he was a fighter and he showed them another way to fight back against these invaders. _"The Second fleet just jumped in to re-enforce our position."_

"We're abandoning this front now. We'll be…"

The rest of the message was lost as the _Zeus_ was hit by multiple strikes...

 _ **CDF Battlestar Galactica**_

"We're dead in the water," Colonel Tigh yelled as he ran to and all but yanked Lieutenant Gaeta off the floor. The brown-haired man screamed in agony as the pain asserted itself. "Man up, Lieutenant. It's just a broken arm. Better pain than dead!"

Gaeta glared at the Second-in-Command in a haze of pain and utter contempt. He never liked Colonel Tigh and Tigh didn't like him. The man was an ill-tempered drunk with delusions of being a semi-competent officer who usually bullied those under his command in alcoholic stupor, Gaeta tried to reign it in, but his pain was too much, and his real hatred was beginning to leak out at the worst possible time. He liked his position but working underneath that man was slowly wearing him down. Reeling in pain it took a few moments before he could concentrate on the situation and not the object of his personal hatred. Two medics were already working on him, administering drugs that would allow him to stay on duty but would make him regret it once it wore off, if they survived.

"Saul!"

By his tone of voice and the way he had said his name, the colonel from years of experience that the commander wanted a strep. He answered instantly.

"Bill, the starboard bay is gone," he answered. "Sections sixteen though twenty-nine is closed off and," he paused as his face turned grimmer than it was a few moments earlier. "It's open to vacuum. We lost a little under four hundred of our finest."

Commander Adama didn't bother looking at the other man to see the strain he as well as everyone else was going through right now. "What's our engine status? Weapons?"

"Engines two and four are gone, engine three is damaged and one of our jump drives is shot to Hades. Port weapons and missile launchers are still green, the main gun can fire maybe two shots before we run out of ordinance."

Adama looked up from DRADIS in frustration. It was sporadic. A Cylon armada could be right in front of them and they'd never see it. "What happened? Why can't we fire our main weapons?"

"Ordinance transport system is down. What's already there is all we have until we fix it."

"I want all the vipers we have left launched. Mix ordinance, anti-capital and anti-fighter, I am authorizing them to carry nukes."

"We have sixteen vipers, and three raptors," Tigh was more strained than usual. "We lost too many pilots in the last fight."

Adama nodded. "Get them out ASAP. Scan the area for our forces. I want to know who is out there now."

"Yes, sir. I'm on it."

* * *

Kara 'Starbuck' Thrace made a hard turn to port in her viper as she and two escorts did an observational run down the length of the _Colombia_ class battlestar. " _Galactica_ Actual, we have hull ruptures across the length of the ship, starboard side. If you try to move too fast, the stress will tear the ship apart. I am not sure the old gal should move at all."

" _Understood. DRADIS picked up three sporadic signals. Can you identify?"_

"I have them. Three Colonial cruisers, repeat. There are three Colonial cruisers, six hundred klicks and closing. They are trying to contact you, _Galactica_ Actual."

" _We are not receiving transmissions. We need to use you as a carrier."_

"Understood _Galactica_ Actual…"

As a true professional Kara didn't show it but she was very worried. So far, this as of yet unidentified enemy had hit Colonial bases with impunity with both nuclear ordinance and some type of beam weapon, they were also using some type of lasers modified like no one had ever seen before as main weapons. Offensive laser was a science that that her people had never properly developed for use on capital ships, the weapon was highly effective and combined with some sort of scattering field that interfered with DRADIS tracking and target lock, it was nearly impossible to accurately hit back. Not only that they had another type of beam weapon, slower in speed as compared to the lasers but just as deadly and when hit it, turned armor into puddles of molten slag. That made at least three different kinds of beams that she knew of so far. One was laser-based, one composed of some type of plasma and the third, only the gods knew.

Her wireless sprang to life as the Colonial cruiser _Unidynal_ started transmitting. She set her own wireless to pass the message along to her battlestar.

" _Galactica this is Unidynal Actual. Please respond."_

" _This is Galactica Actual. It's good to hear your voice, Commander."_

" _What's your status?"_

" _We're dead in space. We've lost the starboard bay and have multiple breaches throughout the ship, casualties are at forty percent, multiple injuries many serious to critical. Partial weapons capability on the port side only with limited main weapon capability. Life support is working but just barely and we have very limited mobility. What's the status of the fleet?"_

" _We're in bad shape. Caprica, Scorpia, Picon, possibly Tauron… they've all been nuked. We've confirmed reports of at least twenty military groups bases being hit on Picon, some type of gunboats with stealth capabilities entered the atmosphere and nuked us before we knew what was happening. Planetary defenses took two of them out, but we can't accurately lock on to them with DRADIS, right now the best we can do is approximate where we should shoot."_

" _Where is the enemy concentrated now?"_ Adama demanded. _"We need to get back into the fight."_

" _Commander, the Galactica is in no shape to fight. We're at the edge of civilian traffic lanes near Picon. There are roving bands of enemy fighters and gunboats in the area. We have civilian friendlies all over the place and no one here to protect them, it's our responsibility to protect our civilians."_

" _No,"_ countered Adama. Kara could hear the anger in her commander's voice at the insinuation that he didn't know his duty. _"It's our responsibility to fight our enemies so that the civilians can be protected. We need to get back into the fight. Now."_

There was a moment of silence before the other commander spoke once more, Kara knew what Adama and every other Colonial was feeling at this moment, she wanted to get into the fight as much as anyone but the _Galactica_ was in no shape to do anything and she knew it. If they encountered the Cylons now (and that was a very big question because she wasn't sure if these really _were_ Cylons), the battlestar wouldn't stand a chance and would stand out as one big fat target waiting to happen. With a grim resolve, she kept her mouth shut.

" _What is your jump status, Commander?"_

" _We can make one jump back into the fight, do what we can with what we got."_

" _If you jump again, the there's a good chance that the Galactica will rip herself apart. We're sending raptors to you now to evacuate your ship. You'll be able to fight back soon enough, Commander."_

 _The commander of the Unidynal sounded young but he hadn't backed down an inch and still he remained respectful._

Commander Adama didn't say a word, but Kara Thrace knew that the old man was trying to keep from giving himself a stroke. He needed to be in this fight and fate seemed to have decreed otherwise, at least for now and if he was mad, then Tigh would be a bigger pain than ever.

It took the Commander a full minute to respond. _"Unidynal Actual, we await your raptors. Thank you for the assistance,"_ the Commander gritted out. _"Enter using the port bay."_

" _Acknowledged. We'll be there in a few."_

 _TBC_


	9. RPIS BOOK II chapter 3

Record keeping time:

 **OMAC001:** Nope. They Cylons have not sided with the Shadows When you read this chapter, you see what is gong on with them.

: Yep. The Race is in this so keep whatching. They had a role to play.

 **Chronus1326:** The chapters ARE somewhat disjointed as I am trying to keep the suspense as well as wanting the readers to see bits and pieces like a puzzle. All of the pieces have not been seen yet. The attitude between the Colonials and Earth are different here and as the chapters continue you'll see those differences. I can't say anything more on that for now.

 **Major Simi:** One comment- COA books I and II.

B5B7: Ordnance, not ordinance. Got it and made the correction.

 **Chloe:** There is background that has yet to be revealed for the readers who don't want to know yet. The Colonials are analyzing what they are seeing and there are correct. However, their conclusions are wrong at this point. but it is a honorable mistake. If this is Earthforce and I am not saying that it is-yet, then something happened in the Earth Minbari war for this to happen. It starts with COA books I and II and what possibly happened at the end when the _Achilles_ left. There was a lot of bad blood there and what happens is one version of a what if. Let's just say that the EA went dark in the same way as Frodo slowly did with that cursed ring he tugged around. I will say that yes, the EA is in bed with the Shadows and there is no Vorlon counterpoint here. More on this soon.

 **Tweeky:** We've talked about this, but I will summarize a bit for here. I will make the corrections about the solar mass statements. I didn't want a galaxy sided hole created but more of a somewhat characteristic 'black-hole. But the results created a rift that is unnatural (whatever that means) that is creating massive pan dimensional ruptures or doorways that effect multiple realities and is not a nature phenomenon. By the way the EA did survive the Earth Minbari war. That's why the crap happening now is occurring. Some people have very long memories. No final five, and none of the other Cylons of the earlier times will be mentioned here.

On with the disjointed new chapter…Please enjoy.

 _ **Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **Chapter Three**_

 _ **(chapter 9)**_

 _ **Cyrannus Star System**_

 _ **Planet Caprica**_

 _ **CDF Base Athena One**_

Athena One, the premier military center of the Colonies represented the largest and most heavily defended military/civilian installation of the Colonies of Kobol. If the Picon Radain Colonial Defense Installation was the heart of Colonial defenses, Athena One was the Colonial military's brain. The Athena One Command Center was built inside of the Gracean Mountain Range located some thirty miles from the city capital. Underneath the southern edge of the range existed a natural system of caves. Its huge caverns and extensive tunnels carved out by lava from an extinct volcano more than six hundred thousand year earlier, was perfect as a natural defensive stronghold. The military originally built it to be used as a protected base for the Colonial Intelligence Division. Situated three miles underground, the base grew from a small intelligence gathering center less than two acres wide to extend a total of six miles wide and eight miles long. The main underground center contained twenty-six levels, supported three armored divisions, the Colonial Intelligence Division, the Anti-Cylon Defense Reaction Corps, Computer Defense Reaction Corps, Weapons Research and Development Operations, and a medium-sized underground airport for use by government and military personnel. The complex was protected by extensive anti-armored and anti-personnel weapons systems. Heavy coil guns and missile systems dotted the mountain range.

The underground railway WRB system's reach extended throughout the capital city and the suburbs. The separate MTRW underground railway extended to four cities on Caprica, using the extinct lava tubes as natural throughways for the rail lines. With its additional; layers of military grade armored shielding, it was estimated that the complex could withstand at least four heavy nuclear strikes before they would even begin to feel it. It was designed with Cylon invasion in mind. With the evidence of the _Prometheus_ and the revelation that Earth did exist and the ease at which the small ship humiliated the Colonial Defense Force during that first contact years earlier, the base was still being expanded.

Earth' military was considered a minor obstacle if they proved to be too aggressive. However, from what little intelligence they had gleaned from the Earth people, it indicated the Colonies had the edge in ships and industrial capability at a ratio of at least eleven to one. That was considered a comfortable ratio but apparently, there were other concerns in the form of real, although unconfirmed. alien threats that were considered by the Earthers as a lot more dangerous than just the Cylons, whom they'd never heard of until they arrived into the Cyrannus star system. Intelligent aliens had never been proven to exist, but Colonial Intelligence took it very seriously, just in case. It was assumed that the Thirteenth Colony couldn't comprehend what true menaces the Cylons were and few things could be worse. Earth was behind the Colonies in technology and resources so any alien threat they had encountered would have an unwelcomed surprise if they chose to attack the Colonies, or so CI assured in their final reports.

It was here at Athena One, that the situations across the Colonies were monitored in detail. A continuous stream of incoming video and data flowed into the complex. Some of the data was received in real time, but much of the information was delayed from seconds to minutes as it made its way to the vast numbers of satellites orbiting Caprica as the transmissions were limited by the speed of light. The combined data was intercepted and interpreted by close to two hundred highly trained operatives. The Cylon cold was taken very seriously by the Colonials who couldn't afford to do otherwise.

* * *

"For a twelve-minute ride, it feels like an eternity," Adar told Marthia.

"So long a ride?" she asked. "This is a high-speed rail. Why can't it go faster?"

His wife of thirty-nine years was petrified, and he honestly couldn't blame her. The life-long school teacher whose beliefs tended to edge towards religious extremism was legendary in the political world. Many of the more religious oriented looked to her as an example of piety, a source of spiritual strength, but he knew the truth. His wife didn't do well with changes of this magnitude. She used to be an excellent teacher, even a passable wife when she wanted to be, which was relatively rare these days. He strongly suspected that she knew of his flirtations and two actual affairs, but she never said a word or confronted him, not even about Laura. She was, in some ways the perfect political spouse. In other ways, she wasn't a wife at all, but as much as he wanted to, he couldn't blame her for the faults in their marriage. Whether they were close or not these days she was his wife and their most important contribution to his political campaign, well, he was eternally grateful for and he owed her because of it.

Her actions saved him from fracturing an already weakened unity of the Twelve Colonies.

Richard couldn't help reflecting on those turbulent days if only for a few moments because until now, it was the most dangerous threat to the government occurred.

In his early years in office, it wasn't the Cylons that were giving him ulcers, it was those godless teachers and their militant union. The teacher's rebellion as some called it, brought the Colonies close to the edge of civil war.

By tradition and culture, many of the teachers were, are still he corrected himself, from the colonies of Sagittaron, Gemenon, and Libria. By training. most were instructed in the religious schools of the followers of Zeus' and Athena's Holy Rites. It was considered a great honor to acquire a degree from the six prestigious teaching universities located on the colony worlds of Picon and Caprica. Years before Adar won the Presidency, there were several years of increasing unrest among the teachers. Religious convictions aside, the Teacher's Union was political to its soul and it craved power, political power and Adar, still a wet behind the ears newly-minted President at the time, was considered weak by the powers that lead the Union. The Union had supported his political rival, Garrius Handus, a religious pontiff whose outward devotion to the gods brought him a hair's breath away from winning the Presidency. But when the counting was done, Adar had won by a mere three points across the Colonies.

The opposition hadn't taken that well which was expected but, it was the Teacher's Union that seethed in frustration and anger at losing their claim to power. The Union supporters' rage boiled over and the first post-election protest brought an estimated two billion people out into the streets to support the union and rally against a president they barely knew.

Six months later, the more religious factions of the union staged an illegal strike that stretched across the twelve worlds. Anyone that tried to cross their lines was attacked and beaten. They demanded more pay, better representation in the government, and the resignation of the Vice-President Counlis. Being their most ardent critic, he was hated by the union more than anyone else. The elder statesman carried more influence with the Quorum than Adar and was considered a threat by the religious factions controlling the union. The factions were so bold as to twice try to assassinate him. The riots that followed resulted in the deaths of more fifteen thousand people and close to sixty thousand injured. Heavily armed bands of teachers, their families, and their followers attacked and captured several cities on Picon and Libra. On Caprica, several suburbs were burned and looted and a military base was overrun. But it was on Sagittaron that true insurrection happened. The rebels there wanted to create an independent nation separate from the United Colonies. Insurrections and terrorists such as Robert Grey and Tom Zarek were responsible for hundreds of acts of destruction and murder across the planet.

To say that Adar faced a political crisis was an understatement. With his position weakening, the negotiations stalled, and people dying every day, he authorized the CDF to act against the union and its followers. He outlawed the union, arrested the leaders and crushed the insurrectionists using military force. Urged by his advisors, Adar was very tempted to call in a series of air strikes against a large metropolitan city where the union headquarters on Sagittaron lay. It wasn't just a building. With more than a thousand teachers armed with military grade weapons, it was an armed fortress. On his orders, thousands would have died. His wife's pleas stopped him from what would have been a horrible mistake. He thanked the gods that he chose to follow his wife's advice against the wishes of his senior advisors.

The military, using land operations, cleaned out what he labeled, 'a civil rebellion'. Close to a thousand people were killed or injured during the three-day running battle. In the aftermath, Adar would always be branded as the President who crushed the teachers strike. It would have been far worse if he hadn't listened to his wife's advice. It kept him from forever being known by history as the 'city killing' president. He came close to resigning after the strike was over and he was blamed for every bit of the unrest and political fallout that followed. Sympathy for the teachers and their families kept the revised Teachers Union in turmoil for years. Those 'poor teachers' almost fractured the Colonies. To Adar's dismay, everyone seemed to forget that little fact. But that was in the past and Adar wasn't concerned about that now; he was focused on comforting his petrified wife.

That consolation couldn't happen, not with this present situation. The officials and military brass looked to him to be the Leader at this critical time. Marthia needed him, but then, so did the entire nation. As the President, he was in charge until President-Elect Goesel was found alive–gods he still held a small hope the man and his family had survived the strike–so that he could officially take the reins of power as leader of the Twelve Worlds.

Until Goesel Vice-President Elect Willius were found alive, something that looked very unlikely since Meletis was destroyed, Adar would make decisions that would affect the entirety of the united worlds. The responsibilities were his now and that meant that there was no way that he could contact his son stationed on the battlestar _Setarius_ just to find out his ship's status. He might still be the President, but he didn't have the right, not yet. He was just one man worried about his son and there were countless thousands doing the same. He winced. Marthia would never forgive him for choosing everyone over her and their son. She understood perfectly what he had to do, and she would curse him for it forever.

A junior officer on the Battlestar _Rycon,_ Richard Antron Adar, their second son had to be caught in the middle of the fighting. Marthia despised the fact that her son was in the military in the first place, risking his life in the cold war with the Cylons. Now her worst fears were realized. The Colonies were caught up in a shooting war with the Cylons and her husband would never use his influence to pull their son away from the front lines. Marthia knew what her husband would choose, and she would hate him for that no matter what the outcome. It was a price Adar knew he would have to be paid one day. He just didn't expect it to be paid while he was still President.

The high-speed train slowed down and came to a stop. Armed guards were at the door waiting for the President and his entourage to exit. The President and his wife were quickly escorted down the hallway past security into the Athena One complex. They too another elevator four stories down and tool the corridor that lead to the very heart of the complex. Proper clothing was quickly provided for both before they were escorted into the Command and Control Center. Marthia would normally not be allowed there but this was an obvious exception as she was escorted to a smaller waiting room away from the heart of the complex. She'd be comfortable there as much as one could, during this time.

The President, looking presentable despite his haggard expression stepped through the heavy reinforced doors that lead to the heart of the center.

"The President of the Twelve Colonies of Kobol!" a heavily built officer who should have used his talented lungs as a Major Domo, yelled. His rich baritone voice captured everyone's attention announcing that their leader had arrived.

Immediately, the hundred and nine officers and support staff in Central Control either saluted or stood at attention the instant Adar walked through the door. In Adar's mind that voice said it all. It confirmed that he was still President, period. With Antonius Goesel and his cabinet along with the city vaporized, he had to step up. Even with the Cylon cold war threatening to break into a hot one at any time. the man never truly expected become a wartime leader.

The President quickly acknowledged them and headed straight towards the main observation monitors showing all the major civilian news stations as their reports added to the massive amounts of information about the very obvious, but undeclared war. The sober and quick glances were cut short as the presence of another man, a hero of the Great Colonial-Cylon War made his presence known.

"Mister Present. I'm glad you made it. Now, we can get some real work done."

Lead Admiral Augustus Cain's ice-blue eyes stared at the President drawing the man to him. Adar, however was searching for another officer who should have already been there.

"Where's Admiral Nagala?" he asked, looking around for the military officer that should have already been there. The passion in his voice surprised hm. He found himself really concerned for the military advisor he'd come to rely on.

Cain, with his unruly snow-white hair and aged face crisply answered. "Sir, he was on a military travelling liner to Picon when we were attacked. The Admiral is now with the _Zeus_ squadron and is the Admiral on site on the front lines."

The President wasted no time regretting the circumstances that force him into the thick of the fighting. His presence there might change the fortune of this war. "How many members of the Quorum are secured and where are they?"

"President-Elect Goesel is confirmed dead," Cain said without preamble. "He, his wife, most of the incoming cabinet are gone along, with most of the two million inhabitants of Meletis. The cities of Garash, Pimross, and Tyris, were nuked. Vice-President-elect Willius is confirmed alive and well on Picon. General Corman is on his way here and should arrive shortly. We don't yet know the status of the other officers and members of the leadership yet. We believe most of the members of the Quorum are alive at this point since they're spread all over the Colonies, but we will have to assume some losses there."

Pimross, the city where James Counlis and his family lived after he retired from office. Paternal early onset senility ended his career too early, Adar thought. But he was fighting it. He still had years of life ahead of him. Now, all of that was gone alone with the people he loved and the city he loved.

"There's nothing that we can do about that for now," announced a grim-sounding Adar. "What's our current situation?"

The Lead Admiral pointed to the main screen. "This is the situation as we know so far. There are two hundred capital ships of four main classifications attacking our forces. We've designated these warships as destroyers, cruisers, battlecruisers and battleships. There are also gunboats of at least two configurations and two fighter types that we've identified so far. All of them are deadly. Mister President, this is not some random strike. It's a prelude to a full invasion. This attack was well planned, likely years in the preparation. They're hitting selected spots for now to try and soften us up but we're getting sporadic reports that they are massing, organizing for their major attack. We must assume that their forces will link up and hit us soon. One of their main targets appears to be the Scorpia shipyards. Scorpia and Tauron suffered the most casualties. We have confirmation of a dozen nukes detonated on Tauron. Five military bases were lost. The space ports at Lembar and Tauron City were hit. The total estimated loss is thirty-three million. That number is certain to go up, Sir."

"Gods, most of our ground troops and small craft are there. Can we get them any support?"

"Battlestar groups Three and Four are heavily engaged," Cain answered as one of the main screens showed an image of the ships engaging Colonial warships. "We can't affect support yet. We're still mobilizing so they're on their own for the moment. We don't dare pull in our sources at the border without inviting an attack by the Cylons on another front although there are some reports that…"

"If they're not an immediate threat, then we can hold off on that front for now." Adar looked at the image and then started squinting. The blurred images of the different ships didn't look anything like Adare thought they would. "I assumed our equipment is better than this," he snapped. "These images are terrible. We should be able to see with some type of clarity! These images are crap, no real detail at all," he continued while squinting so he could glean a better image."

"That's just one of our problems, Mister President." Adar turned to see Admiral Corman walking up to the main screen. Sixty-year-old Admiral Corman looked as strained and frustrated as everyone else. There was a gleam in his eyes that Adar easily recognized. "Sir, I received reports from various stations on my way here. Those blurred images are as good as our camera systems can manage. You notice that our forces seen in the same frames are clearly detailed. We have to assume that the enemy has some sort of stealth system that distorts our DRADIS and visual targeting systems. We're having a very hard time trying to lock onto their ships. Targeting is being distorted by as much as three degrees. We can't hit them at all from long range. We have to be almost at point blank range to hit them."

"Sir," the Lead Admiral saluted.

Corman's return salute was quick and abrupt as he first acknowledged the President and then the old war horse Lead Admiral Augustus Cain, a legend and the father to an admiral, and a general. "It's good to have you here. Sorry to pull you from retirement, but by the gods, we need you right now."

"Of course, you do," Cain answered without a hint of humility. Half of the senior officers were spread from Caprica to Gemenon. Although retired there was no way he could ignore the call. "I couldn't sit at home doing nothing and the military chiefs agreed since they all but drafted and pulled me here. We're in a bad way. We've got to get a handle on the situation."

"You need to retake the oath, to be officially reinstated into command, Lead Admiral," Corman said. He wanted Cain to do that as soon as possible to put him into the system. Who knew how many senior officers like General Heradis and Admiral Norman had already died?

"I am aware of the regulations," Adar snapped with far more vitriol than he'd ever intended. The stress was already getting to him and the day hadn't even really begun. "I'm sorry. Let's do it as soon as possible. For now, though, we need to stop these Cylons from wiping us out."

Corman frowned once again as he had when the first reports were given him. Something wasn't adding up. "Mister President," Corman continued. "The only way we've been able to effectively hit back at them is at almost point-blank range which is tantamount to suicide going against their weapons, and those are not the only problems we're facing. Those ships," he said, focusing on the blurred images on screen, "have a crystalline coating covering their armor. Whatever that substance is, it makes their ships tougher to hurt. Their ship configurations are different from any Cylon ship we've ever seen. Worse, they have some kind of fantastic energy barrier we're starting to call an energy blister that surrounds their ship. When visible it's like an ovoid bubble that protects the ship from missiles and our kinetic weapons. It's strong enough to shrug of several nukes."

"I don't really care if its round or ovoid," Adar snapped. "What can we do to defeat it?"

Corman looked irritable but answered the question. He was more than a bit concerned that the President didn't fully understand the magnitude of the forces arrayed against them. "Sir, the more we know the faster we can defeat it. To answer your question, the shape is strongest at the front of their ships. To the sides the shields are weaker and towards the rear, they are at their weakest. However, we can't deny the evidence in front of us. Those blisters are protecting their ships and keeping us from blowing them all to hades. If we can't get through that blister, and then their armor after we defeat the ECM, we will lose."

Adar looked on in shock. The bile in the pit of Adar's stomach made him want to throw up and the news made him even angrier. "How did the Cylons develop such technologies so quickly?"

"They're not Cylon, sir," grumbled Cain as everything suddenly connected. He was angry at himself. "I must be getting old. I didn't see, and it was right in front of me!"

Adar saw that Corman was already nodding. It was an answer which confirmed what Adar's gut was already telling him. But he didn't want to believe it. All the clues were there but…

"Those are too many unique technologies on those ships. Shields, beam weapons, crystalline armor, what I'm calling scattering ECM and the new FTL drives."

Corman nodded. "It can't be Cylons." Turning from the monitors, he faced the President. "Sir, please look carefully. The enemy ships are very powerful but weren't indestructible. A half-dozen ships were cooling scraps of metal and our people quickly scanned as much as they could, before retreating."

Corman was first to notice the script for what it was now that he could see a clear image and he blanched. A moment later, the new arrivals General Coralis and newly minted Rear Admiral Frank Cunningham recognized the same. Every single high-ranking officer was taught to recognize the writing by sight. "Gods…"

Script from the now clear pieces of metal were plainly visible. Those images and scans proved beyond a doubt exactly who this enemy they were fight against, was.

"I've seen that script before," Adar growled and indeed he had. He'd spent weeks comparing the language with his own as he struggled to learn it for future use. "It's Tau'ri… the Thirteenth Tribe?"

"Yes, sir. They're the ones hitting us."

"It could be a ruse by the Cylons to throw us off while they attack," argued Adar, not that he really believed it. he wasn't as much grasping at straws as attempting to provide a counter argument.

Corman shook his head in dismay and mounting disgust. "No, It's not Cylon. The technologies are very similar to the _Prometheus_ vessel we encountered years ago. They are Tau'ri, not Cylon."

At those words, most of the muted voices inside the Command Center went silent.

"This is retaliation for the _Prometheus_ incident," the President grumbled. The more he thought about it the more his rage increased. "We apologized for that incident and they answer by invading us!" he spat. "All of that work, the resources, the peaceful overtures, all for nothing?"

The words sounded bitter even as he uttered them.

* * *

The humanoid Cylon named John Cavil, the senior leader of the model Ones as well as the self-appointed leader of the Cylon Liberation Forces, woke up coughing and puking his lungs out. Even before he opened his eyes, he instantly realized where he was.

He rested for a moment, gathering his strength _. t Leader of the glorious Cylon Liberation Force_. Each time he thought of that name he had to strain to keep from roaring with laughter, something that he couldn't do at this moment. Laughter was painful when just resurrecting.

 _Freedom from the Colonials?_ The only way that would happen when his people liberated the Humans of their pathetic lives.

Those lovely thoughts caused him to momentarily forget where he was, inhaling deeply. He immediately choked, vomiting out resurrection fluid from his lungs and mouth. How easily it was to forget, he thought.

Breathing carefully now as he regained his full senses he started smiling. John silently thanked resurrection technology for bringing him back once more, not that he intended to die again any time in the immediate future. The ability to return from the dead was a great advantage, most likely the greatest advantage the Cylons possessed over the Colonials. It didn't bother him that here was some question whether they were truly the original returning to life or simply a perfect digital copy, but none of the Cylons that mattered really questioned it, especially the number One series. If he was really a copy of the previous John and not who he believed he was, it didn't matter. That John and his soul, which John didn't believe in was gone. He was here now with all the memories and characteristics, and he was alive. The other body, the dead one, was in the past.

The reality was that it was much easier for the organic models to believe that they were the originals returning from the dead in new bodies as opposed to returning as a copy with all of the memories that once belonged to someone else and not know the difference. That reasoning saved a lot of unnecessary questions and grief. Yes, resurrecting from the dead was convenient, however, it was a very unpleasant experience waking up and taking your first breath only to feel thick resurrection fluid filling one's lungs again. Renewed life shouldn't begin by feeling as if you were drowning and Human babies entered the world experiencing that all the time–disgusting. Furthermore, the resurrection, or more specifically artificial amniotic fluid solution tasted horrid. Maybe he would suggest a minty flavoring be added in the future. John shook his head, bemused at the idea he intended to implement. As revolting as it tasted, it affirmed that he was alive, and he was in a jubilant mood considering the circumstances.

Struggling to get the viscus fluid out of his eyes and nose, John slowly lifted himself up without any help but almost fell backwards. He wasn't used to this new body and it being so fresh, the muscles were still a bit weak as they'd never been used before. He hated the feeling of temporary weakness and treated it as an aggravation he didn't need. The other Cylons didn't need to see him, their leader, weak, not at a time like this.

* * *

John Cavil 'died' a few minutes earlier in a flash of nuclear fire that incinerated the city of Isa on Sagittaron. The untimely death by nuclear explosion came as a surprise and one that he really hadn't wanted to experience. The reason he was on the planet in the first place was because the mission was so critical. His mission was a simple one; get in, deliver the nuke and get out. His loathing at being on a Colonial world was legendary among his fellow Cylons. Normally, John wouldn't have even subjected himself to visiting a planet filled with Humans that he hated. He was more of an organizer, a vital and necessary component of the Cylon race, who was needed at central command. The other Ones could do field work and they did for the most part however, the mission that got him killed on Sagittaron was too important to leave to his fellow Cylons or even his fellow Ones. Tom Zarek, who still eluded those ignorant Colonials was too valuable a resource to leave for the others to deal with. The terrorist had done so much for the Cylon cause that John almost liked him as a Human would love a dog or cat, only more. His actions in the last few years had caused the Colonials nightmares while they tried to keep the local government on that miserable planet from falling apart.

Unity, a laughable phrase when describing that miserable world, was strength and Tom was the perfect foil to help break that unity. His escape from prison, with help from fellow sympathizers and heavy covert support from several Cylons, made the Sagittaron authorities look like fools and enhanced the reputation of the rebellion, and it served to strengthen the calls for independence. John loved it. as he always said, a little revolution was good for the soul and the Cylon cause.

John's mission to sell a small nuke to the Zarek resistance fighters was just completed when the fighting broke out. No one knew exactly what was happening not even the authorities. The television reporters said that the Colonies were being attacked and everyone just knew that it was the Cylons. John also concluded that his people were hitting the Colonials. The attack was happening way too soon and the One was angered that his people had gone behind his back and staged a surprised attack without his permission, or knowledge just after he left central command and out of communication.

John was the de facto leader of the Cylon race even though all of the models always voted on any major decision with the majority consensus being the law. The fools had no real idea who was truly running things and this unsanctioned attack was exactly why he rarely left the Colony unless it was mission critical. Without his guidance, any gains they had achieved so far, would quickly fall apart. His fellow brothers and sisters were idiots and dupes when it came to seeing the big picture. His fellow Ones weren't much better although they could be counted on to do the correct thing at the correct time. Why they hadn't stopped this untimely attack was beyond him, but they were committed now, and John was glad he was back to handle things and make the big decisions.

Collecting his thoughts about the mission, John remembered sirens began screaming all over the city just as Zarek's associates had driven off with the package. People were panicking everywhere saying that the Cylons were attacking. A lot of them were praying to their false gods in the middle of the streets instead of trying to save their pathetic lives. Naturally, John knew that that was impossible, but just to be safe, he decided to relocate to a shelter. Real death had little meaning to him but how one died was important and he refused to die in the middle of a street looking up for salvation that would never come. Getting crushed by a car or shot in the stomach; those type of violent and lingering painful deaths was something to be avoided as much as possible.

But he also had to grudgingly admit that for whatever the reasons his people had decided that now was the time to attack the Humans, their actions came as a welcomed surprise as he had had pushed hard for the war, despite everyone continually overruling him, for years. Something in the equation had changed and it had to be something important enough for them to engage the Colonials so quickly and without some preparation or input from him. They just weren't that independent-minded which to him was a glaring weakness among his people.

Their overarching fear was that they weren't prepared to attack the Humans with having a high probability of winning. Colonial battlestars were powerful and respected weapon systems. A straight up fight with the Colonials was too high a risk and the probability of defeat would doom his race, although John believed that his people would come out on top in capital engagements. The odds however were too close to call and the Cylons wanted an edge and they had prepared one. That now defunct edge, laughably called 'the plan' was torn apart and flung into the wind. All that work for nothing.

And it was all the Thirteenth Tribe's fault.

That world shouldn't have even existed! It was destroyed long ago according to all his information and yet, there they were all those years ago, meeting with the Colonials as boldly as if they owned all of space. Their mere existence proved beyond a doubt that his sources had lied to him, and the Cylon plans to finally remove Humanity from the stars went up in smoke.

If the Earth ship _Prometheus_ hadn't shown up, the plan would have been enacted and everything would have been perfect. But no, the Thirteenth Tribe just had to prove itself real and show up at the exact worst possible time. The software tampering was discovered by accident–all of that work and planning for nothing! –and that forced both sides into a cold war where neither the Colonials nor Cylons had a clear advantage over the other. Instead of the Colonials gearing down as they were years earlier, they were constantly gearing up. Battlestars that should have been retired or scrapped were being maintained and upgraded, adding to their overall fleet. The only good things to happen was the Colonial hatred of the Thirteener's religious beliefs, their refusal to immediately acknowledge Colonial oversight, and the attack on the Thirteenth's ship tore the first contact to shreds. Those stolen records of the meeting were eye-opening and somewhat amusing; however, an unintended side effect was that years of Cylon preparation were ruined because of them. He and the Threes swore that the Earthers would pay in blood as soon as the Colonial ships that were heading to that hated planet made contact and identified where its location was. Then the huge Cylon fleet tracking the Colonials would burn that world and pay them back for all the misery and interference they'd caused. The so-called Tau'ri would be crushed just like their Colonial counterpart were going to be.

Not surprisingly, it took about fifteen minutes for him to find one that wasn't filled with people. Inside one of the hundreds of huge bomb shelters located in and around the city, John saw two of his fellow Cylons both of whom purposely ignored him. Instead, they like others in the shelter were focused on the television, staring at the well-known blond reporter located some twenty miles south near Polatis city. So, everyone was watching when the reporter turned her head and opened her mouth to speak. Every person in the shelter saw her face change in an instant from professional confusion to absolute terror. Whatever she was looking at off-camera had frightened her badly. By the look on the faces of his fellow Cylons, John suspected that his bellow brethren had no idea what was happening either. The television screen turned to static and then went out as the shelter lost power. A dull roar accompanied by a violent rumbling was felt in the shelter along with an ever-increasing brightness that penetrated the very walls even though they were below ground. That left no doubt as to why the reporter had panicked and the television lost the signal. A second, heavy rumble happened, overriding the first one. In that instant, the Humans started screaming. The shelter would not hold. The second nuke had detonated too close. Everything and everyone was starting to catch fire. John's last agonized thoughts before the blinding light scorched his eyes from his sockets and the heat melted the shelter were 'those spineless idiots really did it! Now we can kill them all and get rid of the Human infestation like they wanted. Mindless agony overwhelmed him, and his world went black.

* * *

Grabbing a towel to wipe the excess glistening fluid off him before he took a quick shower, Cavil stopped suddenly as he became fully aware of his surroundings. His fellow Cylons were running around like birds with their heads cut off. The centurions were moving around erratically as if waiting for instructions. The resurrection tanks were _filled_ with his fellow Cylons waking up. A wild-eyed Eight ran by him screaming something about being targeted and the ships emergency sirens were screaming several warnings at once. Something was terribly wrong, and John wanted answers now. He coughed once as he used his voice for the first time. "What is…?" he began.

He didn't finish, his ears popped as he saw the merest glimpse of yellowish light passing through the resurrection ship just in front of him…

…Only to wake up once more choking on that abominable fluid once more.

"What's happening?" he managed to yell…before he woke up _again_ on yet a third resurrection ship.

"Will someone tell me what's happening!" he screamed out. Confused and exhausted, he fell back into the tank splashing fluid everywhere. Again, he heard those hated alarms. How did they kill two of our resurrection ships?" he yelled out in frustration. "How did they get through our defenses?"

Now he was badly frightened. Obviously, the Colonials had tracked and destroyed at least two nearby resurrection ships. He wanted to know they found them so quickly and why hadn't the ships already jumped to places of safety? Colonial tracking capabilities weren't that great when compared to Cylon technology, so that should not have been a problem. Like most Cylons, he initially assumed that the Colonials were the ones retaliating but something was off. The Humans were striking back much quicker than they should be capable of and the Cylons were being hurt. "How are the Colonial doing this to us?"

"They're not Colonials," a Two yelled at him. "Unknown ships are attacking us with weapons we've never seen before. I don't think they're Human!"

"Are you damaged or insane? It's the Colonials!" John yelled.

The Two shook his head violently. "They can't be," the Two yelled back. "They're like nothing we've ever seen before. I think they're alien."

 _ **TBC**_

 _ **Okay, what is going on here? They Cylons are at war? Yes. With the same enemies as the Colonials? No. Are the two sets of enemies working together? Yes. Stay tuned.**_


	10. Roads paver in Shadow Book II chapter IV

_**Note 1: This is a bit longer than the usual 3000 or so words but this is Christmas!**_

 _ **Note 2: remember that this is basically a coin flip of the other series. That one is a lot of talk you may have noticed. This is darker using the same characters, as a whole. Here, the personalities are a little different.**_

 _ **Note 3: Notice that I have not specifically said who the Colonials are fighting yet. Some of you have guesed. But I will make it clear in the next chapter. Meanwhile Merry Christmas and have a blessed new year…**_

 _ **Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **Chapter Four**_

 _ **Cyrannus Star System–Earth Date: December 2021**_

 _ **Planet Caprica, Caprica City**_

 _ **(Earth Time 2:52 AM)**_

President Richard Adar couldn't help but be livid as his thoughts kept returning to the political coupe he lavished in a little more than two years earlier. This certainly wasn't the time to reflect about the past, but it kept pulling at him. He banked his entire legacy by taking the first steps towards an eventual reunification with the Thirteenth Tribe; so, how could he have been so wrong about the Earth colony?

A quick glance at the retired High Admiral Cain's face hadn't helped his mood. The man had the look of someone who had just eaten the preverbal carnartis bird. Adar's personal opinion of the man wasn't fit to be uttered in public places. Neither man liked one another as he was one of the Adar's harshest critics when it came to the Earthers and the incident that happened so many years ago. Apparently, the prick's suspicions about the Apellai was right. But he was still an obnoxious prick.

Adar's mind went back all those years to the day every man, woman, and child remembered as the day everything changed. It began when a battered, unidentified ship flashed into the Cyrannus system. The unusual energy dispersal of an unknown FTL event triggered an Condition One status in the entire Cyrannus defensive network. Already in a state of heighted alert because of suspected Cylon activity, four fast response battlestars converged on the source of the disturbance. What they found was a ship. It wasn't a known Cylon configuration and although there were similarities to Kobollian warship configurations, it wasn't Colonial either.

The alloys that comprised the strange ship was unidentifiable to DRADIS and detailed scans. Upon closer inspection, the small vessel's design was unlike anything the Colonials built and it didn't transmit an identifiable IFF. From the amount of battle damage, it was apparent that the ship was involved in a major battle against assailants' unknown. The damage pattern on the unknown indicated that the weapons used against it wasn't from Cylon or Colonial weaponry. Whatever the extent of the battle, the unidentified ship's crew had survived. Basic communications were established and from this it was quickly confirmed that the ship and its crew were not Colonial, or some put together pirate vessel. There was a language barrier between both sides, as surprisingly the crew didn't speak any known Kobollian language, but the strange ship utilized an advanced translation matrix and established real-time communication with the lead battlestar. As fantastic as it was, the ship's crew claimed to be from a planet called Earth and they also claimed that many other worlds in the galaxy called them the Tau'ri, but they preferred the name Terran. That one introduction stunned every person listening in on the transmission.

Those words created awe and more than a small amount of suspicion. Others had tried to cast themselves as being from Earth. All of them were proven to be fakes. This, however was something different and it also presented a possible threat. The battle damage alone made the CDF nervous. It was unnerving that somewhere out there was a conflict that the Colonials knew nothing of and the possibility of that conflict biting them was real. The Cylons were one thing, something that they were used to. This was something new and it was very disconcerting.

Six Colonial cruisers and five escorts flashed into normal space not far from the fast response battlestars. Having an unidentified ship invading their territory in a manner never seen before made the military nervous and the brass was waiting for the other shoe to drop. The worst-case scenarios were the possibilities of an invasion of unknown ships instigating a raid on Colonial territory, or a unknown war spilling into Colonial space, allowing the Cylons to take advantage and attack Colonial interests.

The ship commanders were suspicious of the unknown and made it clear that they didn't trust them. Several warships locked onto the small vessel while both sides were still talking to each other. Despite the provocation and discomfort that such an action caused, it was standard protocol and any unidentified ship would be challenged accordingly.

The then Quorum Representative Richard Adar recalled the transcripts between Terran Doctor of Archeology and cultures expert Daniel Jackson of the ship called _Prometheus_ and Commander Talsaman of the battlestar _Sulaius_. In fact, Richard had memorized those transcripts. Both sides were tense but despite the weapons locks, the initial contact seemed to go well. Doctor Jackson told a very skeptical Colonial officer that they were from a planet called Earth, tens of thousands of light years from the Cyrannus system and arrived in the system by accident due to a navigational error caused by a fight again thousands of light years from here. That statement surprised and alarmed the Colonials. Further surprises were in store as, according to Doctor Jackson, there were many Human-occupied worlds in the galaxy and he gave a quick summary of the state of several worlds and the galaxy at large.

The Colonials listening to the man didn't believe it and most of their responses indicated that. If Adar had been there at the time, he wouldn't have believed it either. It was simply too fantastic, and it went against Colonial history and current understanding of the universe.

Whether he was telling the truth or not wasn't as concerning as the fight the crew engaged in. There were very some pointed questions being asked concerning the battle damage; who the enemy was, what types of weaponry, the size of the enemy forces, defensive and offensive capabilities, and locations, just to start. They also wanted to know of the _Prometheus'_ capabilities and details of the faster-than-light drive that their ship utilized. They wanted to know what type of weapons the alleged Earth ship used, and the officials wanted this info immediately, but Jackson was evasive and didn't answer in detail. The evasiveness angered the Commander on point. He demanded to know what type of threats, if any, were out there. Talsman's attitude and approach to Jackson reflected the military's general opinion that Jackson was lying or could be cohorts into doing what the Colonials wanted.

It was then that General O'Neill took over the line, taking exception to the insinuations. By then the civilian contact team had arrived accompanied by three more battlestar escorts. The accusations annoyed O'Neill who also voiced his displeasure at the increasing numbers of Colonial ships slowly enveloping them, a fact Adar had to admit was true. The civilian contact man, Adar couldn't remember his name, tried his best to defuse the situation, reigning in an increasingly petulant Talsman. His actions seemed to calm the Earth crew somewhat. The conversation returned to the Colonials wanting information about the battle damage and specifically what happened. O'Neill apparently took exception to the attitude and responded saying that his ship received damage fight an extra-dimensional menace trying to take over the galaxy.

Adar remembered hearing that explanation and shaking his head at the audacity of the man. No one believed the insane story the General had spewed. The most plausible explanation at the time was that the ship was some type of Cylon plant, a deception by traitors working for the Cylons. This was the conclusion of the civilian contact and most everyone agreed with him at the time. When Adar read the transcripts, he came to the same conclusions and he didn't fault what happened next given the information at that time.

The _Prometheus_ was ordered to stand down and prepare for boarding. The civilian contact was convinced that he would find out the truth for himself. Citing Colonial law, he informed the crew he had the authority to confiscate ship and its crew to determine if they were telling the truth, if they were pirates, or if they were collaborating with the Cylons which he implied was his initial belief. Then he cited another law, an obscure religious article referring to religious heretics as enemies of the Colonies. Jackson had mentioned something about other gods just before O'Neill had taken over the talks.

Over the communications, General O'Neill was heard muttering, "why does this keep happening?' and 'Daniel, never, ever talk about religion to people with big giant spaceships again, EVER!'"

Talks officially broke downthree hours after the _Prometheus_ entered the system. Raptors headed towards the small ship with the intent to board. But something happened. An energy field unlike anything they'd ever seen before surrounded the small ship. The raptors were ordered to back off by O'Neill, but they continued towards the Earth vessel.

General O'Neill's words over the comms were, _"stay away from the shield," and, "it's been fun. Nice meeting ya. We're leaving the system now. Maybe we'll visit again in a hundred years or so, when you all calm down some."_

According to all reports, the ship's energy output increased to battlestar level emissions and beyond. It was now apparent that during the talks, the crew had repaired enough of the ship to continue to wherever they were going. That's when Lord Hades took over.

When the raptors continued their approach, two of the raptors encountered and rebounded off the energy shields. One of the raptors was severely damaged, the other one destroyed as it suffered catastrophic engine failure due to damage. O'Neill half apologized about the damage and destruction of the two raptors, but they had been warned not to approach.

The first shots were fired. A battlestar fired its main guns at the _Prometheus's_ engines with the attempt to disable ship, those shots bounced off the energy shield, surprising the Colonial who assumed that such firepower could have broken through those shields. His people had vastly underestimated the increasingly fast-moving _Prometheus._ The ship's sheer acceleration panicked the commanders. More battlestars fired on the ship.

Several capital-killing explosive shells slammed into the shields causing them to glow brightly enough that some ships mistaken the brightness for the ship exploding. O'Neill had enough, and he returned fire using some type of unknown energy-based weapon. The beam cut through one of the battlestars main engine as if it were paper, slicing cleanly through causing explosions as the fuel storage units went up. The rear third of the ship was blown in half, the remains of the massive engine compartments separated from the main body of the battlestar. O'Neill issued another warning for the Colonials to back off. Enough unnecessary death had occurred today without more being added. The vessels' power emission increased even more than previously.

Stunned by the power of the small vessels weapons, worried commanders on every warship surrounding the _Prometheus_ fired on it. The shells and missiles did nothing to slow the ship down in the _Prometheus_ fired his energy weapons again crippling two cruisers and three destroyers as it created a hole in its break for freedom. Another battlestar that was in the Earther's path was crippled beyond repair. The ship was moving faster than anything they'd ever seen before, outrunning the fast attack destroyers as well as the vipers trying to catch up to her. In a flash of brilliant light, the ship disappeared as it jumped using its unique faster than light drive.

Admiral Cain and the Ninth Fleet, arriving from the Gamora star cluster, had just jumped into the Cyrannus system in time to see the battle and escape of the Earth warship. He was surprised as everyone else by the sheer destruction created by a ship not much larger than a patrol boat. One battlestar was destroyed, one badly damaged, one cruiser cut apart and one severely damaged, and three destroyers shot to pieces by some type of high-powered projectile weapon. State-of-the-art armor did nothing to protect the Colonial forces. Cain was angry that he didn't have opportunity to stop the Earth vessel personally and that was his reason why he was so upset. He felt it was a personal affront to him and the Colonial military.

That very famous First Contact and the resulting humiliation by the Earth ship _Prometheus_ still burned in Cain's gut. It burned in Adar's gut as well, but for differing reasons. The man lived for conflict. Adar sought more peaceful solutions instead of war being the first response.

Commander Berdela of the Battlestar _Hysal_ survived the loss of his ship and more than half his crew. It was his actions, firing on the Earth ship first, that most believed triggered the battle. The commander's anger at the loss of his ship as well as the raptors he ordered to secure the _Prometheus_ raised an uproar across the Twelve Colonials of Kobol. Cain, being ranking officer was blamed for the loss of Colonial vessels and the escape the so-called Earth ship. Cain demanded that Talsman and Berdela be court-martialed for conduct unbecoming an officer; possibly starting a war with what might well be the Thirteenth Colony. His religiously narrow-minded attitude pushed him to label them heretics, something that incited his already anxious crew. He was also responsible for breaking contact with the Earth colony. It was widely believed that Berdela's attitude precipitated the battle. The civilian contact specialist was fired and essentially blacklisted.

Cain was acquitted of all charges, but he never really forgave the Earth ship for humiliating the warships on his watch. He was barely on station two minutes before the battle was over and the ship escaped. Being the superior officer in the region, the Quorum attempted to place the ultimate blame on him, ignoring the fact that he and his battle group were light-years away and didn't even know that the Apellai-Earth ship was in-system until ten minutes before the battle had broken out. Like other military officers, he wanted the technologies glimpsed on the _Prometheus_.

Two weeks later, the Colonials unintentionally tripped over the Cylon computer virus that would have crippled the entire Colonial defense force and made the Colonies vulnerable to attack by Cylons. The simmering antagonism against the newly discovered Earthers was replaced by the fear that their traditional enemies could crippled the Twelve worlds. The Quorum debated going to all-out war but after weeks of debate cooler heads prevailed and the situation dissolved into a cold war that lay dormant for nearly another two decades.

Two years later after the _Prometheus_ incident, Adar ran and won the first of his three terms as President. He didn't have time to focus on the Thirteeners. Internal problems racked the twelve worlds threatening to break the fragile unity seemingly on a constant basis. The Teachers Strike, the ever-present Cylon cold war, the rebellion on Sagittaron, the religious rebellion where the ultra-right-wing group called the Warriors of Ares tried to create a new government on Tauron, and the hated tax increases for military expenditures were just a few of his challenges.

But the escape and subsequent disappearance of the _Prometheus_ still simmered on the minds of everyone. Concerning the fabled colony, there were far too many questions and way too few answers. Where was Earth? Who were they fighting and what and where were they located in relationship to the Colonials? Those answers and others were on the minds of both the Colonial people and the Cylons. The very lack of those answers threatened to explode on Adar's watch. The CDF was nervous about unknown enemies and Earth's real agenda. Some short-sighted members of the Quorum were advocating war, believing that the Colonies could win a quick victory against the small, isolated Earth and in the process, intimidate the Cylons with their display of military firepower at the same time. Others argued against any type of conflict against their brothers and sisters of Earth. Adar did authorize the defense forces to search for the location of Earth but to do nothing to instigate any hostilities whatsoever. This, of course, satisfied no one. After years of searching, they had a general positional fix where Earth was most likely located.

Commander Berdela was not court-marshalled despites Cain's best efforts, staged a small munity by inciting several fleet commanders to stage a coup against President Adar with the ultimate goals of forcibly bringing Earth into the Colonial fold after attacking and destroying the Cylon menace once and for all. As the reports came of the fighting. President Adar at the end of his first term in office was absolutely infuriated. Berdela and the entire command crew of the _Sundance_ were subdued and court-martialed, and jailed. Commander Talsaman of the battlestar _Sulaius_ was given a citation for revealing the attempted munity to the CDF. Several high-ranking officers and members of the Quorum were jailed but that was as much as he could do. Adar had wanted a public execution for conduct unbecoming officers and sedition.

Just months after winning his second term, Adar found himself struggling to resolve the teacher's strike, resorting to a very public use of crowd control, one politically damaging to his reputation as he had to call in the military to suppress the rioting and looting by the members of the education system. Even he was surprised by the violence of their actions. The public was outraged, and he needed to reflect the political firestorm quickly or his government would have collapsed with the Quorum voting to impeach him.

The Dawn Day speech was the most dramatic and important of his presidency. Years after that speech, he still suffered twinges of anxiety when he reminisced about it. Humble and more than a bit nervous although he thought he hid it well, the Presidential speech went into detail about the teacher's strike, and the reasons why he was forced to call in the military. Then he dropped a bombshell as he revealed de-classified data for the first time to the public about what really happened concerning the debacle with the Thirteenth Tribe, as his advisors insisted on calling the Earth ship's crew despite their insistence that they weren't.

According to the information provided by Jackson, The Terran Tau'ri didn't believe that Earth was one of the Colonies of Kobol. Since Adar was live at the Colonial Presidential suite, he couldn't hear the uproar of his revelation, but he certainly imagined how…boisterous it had to be. But that part of the speech was only a foretaste of what was to be one of the most controversial speech in the existence of the Colonies.

Adar's address broadcast live to the Twelve Colonies started a quiet furor as he publicly apologized to the Thirteenth Tribe for their actions. He wasn't president at the time, but he took responsibility for the military forces firing on their ship. It was his hope, and he stated it publicly, on-air, that the Earth colony would forgive the incident and attempt to start over in a spirit of friendship and family. That proposal caused an even greater uproar.

The military, the mega-corporations, the religious leadership, all of them were incensed. By going public with this apology, Adar effectively ham-strung their plans for Earth, the small isolated colony filled billions of potential followers and technology, plus the obvious resources that made both the corporations and military establishments salivate. If they tried to force their hand against Earth, then the people would rise up, and Adar knew he had their overall support. He proposed a mission of peace instead of adversity. He told the people that Earth's general location was known, and he proposed that a mission be sent to Earth with the trip taking more than a year. His intentions were to offered gifts of apology to smooth the way to begin peace talks and develop avenues for possible trade in the future. No mention of possible unification was ever hinted at by the President even under intense pressure from the religious factions and Quorum members trying to include it in the initial talks. He was having none of that and they hated him for it.

In the weeks that followed, he used almost all his political favors and leverage to strangle many opportunists trying to hijack his proposals, especially several military based corporations and political conservatives pushing for a more aggressive approach and forms of intimidations towards a world they believed they could somehow bully into submission by the size of the Twelves alone. It was a foregone conclusion that elements of the military were more than interested in the unique faster-than-light drives, weapons, and of course, energy shields of the Thirteeners. Their greed overshadowed their common senses and some quorum members were insinuating that war might be an advantageous method of acquiring it, a show of strength as it were. Adar couldn't believe that his people could be so blind when it came to profits.

Adar ruthlessly crushed those plans before they could root itself too strongly into the hearts of the military. Instead, three battlestars, a _Mercury_ and two of the newest _Minoan_ class, and three medium cruisers would escort a small convoy to Earth. They protected three heavy transports, two long-ranged civilian carriers, one _Andromeda_ -class long-ranged marinestar, one heavy mining freighter, one refueling freighter, and four additional support ships. Two of the transports would carry precious items and gifts from the entirety of the Twelve Colonies while the third largest carried the crowning glory of the Colonies for use by Earth. It was a mobile space dock, freely given as an act of apology for the debacle of their first contact with the Colonies. Most people agreed that such a gracious act would ease the animosity that Earth must have felt against their cousins. The Terrans were just one world and although their ships were obviously powerful they very likely needed infrastructure to produce more ships of their own. It was estimated that Earth could not have more than a dozen ships at most. The people of the Colonials acknowledged the Earthers as family and with that came responsibility. The last thing the Colonials wanted was for the Cylons to find out where Earth was and perform a preemptive strike. The Terrans needed to know that their cousins, despite the not so great first contact were generous and respectful of their long-lost family member. Adar and most of the other members of the Quorum considered the Thirteenth Tribe as their elder cousins (and there was a lot of debate whether they were the youngest or the eldest tribe) who were alone but apparently thriving in the depths of space. The First Contact delegation left more than a year earlier heading towards their destination. Adar was sure that such a genuine entreaty would at least opened the lines of communication in a non-hostile manner.

"Apparently Earth didn't except the overture," Cain muttered.

Another wave if anger flushed Adar's weathered face. "We've sacrificed eighteen ships and almost nine thousand people for nothing!"

Despite the anger evident, the utter despair in his voice was obvious to Cain. A momentary flash of anger passed over him. His youngest daughter was part of the expedition. It was a fluke, an accident of fate as she was picked command the ground forces on the marinestar as well as provide security for the civilians and contact teams when they reached Earth. Adar wanted his best and brightest to represent the Colonies and he admitted that he agreed with the choices. But his daughter and the others were dead, or prisoners or possibly enslaved, and for what, trying to make peace with a bunch of renegades?"

 _Gods!_

He'd grieve later. They'd all grieve later. Right now, there was work to do. His face was a mask of fury equaled by both Corman and Adar. All three were resolved to save the Colonies from the Earthers.

Adar was impressed by Cain's ability to focus on the present and his words echoed his own.

"Well, they've given us their response," the white-haired warrior snarled. "Let's give one back!"

 _ **The 26**_ _ **th**_ _ **Emperor Jorpna:**_

Straha, Shiplord of the UCW starship _26_ _th_ _Emperor Jorpna_ could tell that Shiplord Kirel in command of the starship _126_ _th_ _Emperor Hetto_ was nervous not only about the about the mission but about the news coming from Home II. The mission of exploration, as part of the United Coalition of Worlds, was the small fleet of three ships first real mission not being shepherded by the Terrans or other Human crewed UCW vessels. They were an independent for the last four months tasked with exploring the local star systems for the Coalition and the Race. Gone were the old cryo sub-light vessels once built by the Race. Their shells either still orbited Home II, or like most were on the surface; however, they were in the process of being decommissioned and their parts used as originally planned for the expanding the colony on Home II.

The Emperor's decree that the Race join the Tosevite Terrans powerful government sent shockwaves throughout the entirety of the Empire. Straha, Atvar and other leaders were stunned and concerned about the Emperor's rash decree but in the light of such threats to the Empire, it was the most logical decision he could have made. The survival of the Empire was in the balance. The bad neighbors, those who were more advanced than the Race, surrounded the small empire and those neighbors had no problems conquering and slaughtering the Lizardian population.

And that thought brought forth another hiss of irritation from Straha. He thought of his people and empire by using the name 'Lizardian'. His people hated that name as much as the Humans hated the name 'Tau'ri', but it stuck to the Terrans like a knan tick underneath the scales. To his dismay even he was beginning to think of the collective races of the Race as Lizardians. It just wasn't right. In a few generations the members of the Empire wouldn't even care. However, that was a minor concern to be dealt with, if possible, later. The current mission was what concerned everyone now.

In a few short months, three worlds suitable for the Race had been discovered within two hundred light-years of Home. That was stunning, and it meant that the Race would have all the room it needed to expand without violating other neighbors who might not take kindly to having the Race move in on their territories. That was indeed good news.

The very bad news was that the UCW was responsible for enforcing the Protective Planets Treaty which the Race was responsible for as well and there were problems in the winds. The vast majority of those worlds protected in the treaty were populated by Humans, but a select small few were non-Humans. Straha didn't really care as the Emperor had agreed to it. What was of upmost concern was that the surface of several worlds were attacked and its population wiped out by persons unknown using orbital weaponry. A total of four worlds were completely devoid of Human life including the first confirmed attack that nearly wiped out every single member of the Tok'ra. Moreover, the attacks were consistent, happening once a month almost to the day. Not one of those worlds had yet developed steam engine technology due to previous goa'uld domination. Whoever attacked them knew that those people had absolutely no chance against any type of attack let alone an orbital bombardment. To Straha and the others, it was straightforward cruelty, no intent of conquest, only the intent to slaughter.

The Coalition was up in arms as Straha believed they should be in his opinion. Everyone was in a heightened state of alert with many believing that the Goa'uld were the ones responsible. But the patterns of attacks and the weapons' signature didn't in any way match the Goa'uld. No goa'uld presence was reported near any PPT worlds and for reasons that made everyone suspicious was that the Goa'uld were publicly making sure everyone knew where their ships were. They knew something, and they were staying away from any of the Terran controlled or protected worlds. It was an unpleasant situation.

The Emperors, both of them, the First Emperor Runshan on Home and Emperor Risson ruler of Home II, (and here his eyes unconsciously lowered to reflect respect to both Emperors as was tradition) their newest and premier colony world donated to them by Earth. It was a gracious gift and one that kept Home from being turned into a world ruled by Earth. Ten years had passed, and he still thought of the entire affair in wonder and awe. What should have been an easy conquest of Tosev II, otherwise known as Earth changed the course of every member of the Race. The Race believed they would encounter animal riding creatures using bows and arrows, and spears against members of the Race flying killercraft, using automatic rifles, and driving armored Landcruiser's. The conquest should've been easy, instead the Terrans had in less than sixteen hundred years went from riding animals to flying space craft that moved faster than the speed of light. To say that the Race was shocked was considered a laughable understatement. The moment that fleet Lord Avtar discovered that the Terrans were coming to meet them instead of the other way around he knew that the Conquest Fleet and possibly the Empire was doomed. This truth was a hit in the liver when the conquest fleet saw first-hand evidence of an attack by the Lucian Alliance on Earth. Both sides used weapons unimaginable to the Race. The Fleetlord was terrified, the shiplords were terrified, along with everyone else. The Lucian Alliance warships try to destroy the conquest fleet which had no defense against such power. The Terrans however protected the Conquest Fleet and beat back the Lucian Alliance warships.

Never had members of the Race felt so helpless. They once believed that they were the premier species of the galaxy, the most advanced, the most powerful, and the ones destined to rule all other races. That belief was thoroughly shattered and thrown into the waste winds of the Guane cold desert on Home. But, with the Terrans' peace overtures, something that the race would have never done, the Emperor in his wisdom (or insanity, Straha wasn't sure even after all this time), he decided to ally the Race with the Terrans. It was an unprecedented action, a decision made quicker than any other decision members of the Race had known. But in the Emperor's wisdom he understood that speed was absolutely essential. The survival of the Race was his priority and he made a decision that changed the direction of the Race forever.

The Race now had ships that moved far in excess of the speed of light, traveled to new worlds, seen stellar phenomenon that they could only once only imagine or see from the most powerful telescopes. No longer was the Race in danger of overpopulation and they had no need to conquer new worlds because the galaxy was filled the worlds that the Race could occupy without taking them from others. He like many other members of the Race was not sure how to take this. A new generation of males and females would deal with the strangeness of it all more easily. His generation however would need to adjust and unfortunately the Race didn't adjust that well, but they intended to try and try hard. Their survival was at stake.

There were other problems of concern as well. The Race was changing in ways that nobody had anticipated/ Only the emperors, and again he lowered his eye turrets in respect, Fleetlord Atvar, Shiplord Kirel and himself knew the full truth. This truth was the most frightening thing that he could have ever imagined. That was a source of constant conversation between the three commanders about the wisdom of it all. It was a conversation that he and shiplord Kirel were currently discussing before the Senior Sensor officer of the males monitoring the sensors interrupted.

"Shiplords we have contact, eighteen ships appeared from nowhere. Our sensors indicate that they use a form of faster than light we are unfamiliar with. I will proceed to use our database to determine if we can identify the type of FTL and then possibly identify the unknown targets."

"Let it be done."

"It shall be done, Superior sir."

"Shiplord Kirel has ordered us to use the cloak," Straha said. "It shall be done. We will close on the unidentified targets."

Senior pilot Nignxe lowered his head as well as his eyes in acknowledgment. "Yes, Shiplord."

The shiplord said nothing, being slightly aggravated by the response. He should be used to it now, he thought. But it still grated his nerves just a tiny bit. 'Yes, shiplord' was a Terran phrase. It wasn't that he didn't like it but there was so much Terran contamination of the language being inserted into the members of the Race. It should have been the other way around…if the Conquest Fleet had done what it was supposed to. "Changing times," he grated. He really hated change, but he guessed he'd get used to it.

"Take us into hyperspace," he ordered, as the ship followed the lead _Sse'ki_ class _304s_ as they began their vector towards the unknown targets.

 _ **Cyrannus Star System–Earth**_

 _ **Command Basestar OA-One**_

The blond number Six Cylon had resurrected a few minutes earlier than he had and crewed one of the now destroyed Cylon basestars. On her face was the wide-eyed look of terror.

"What? That's impossible!" sputtered a dumbfounded John Cavil, known as _the_ Number One. Not only wasn't Earth a dead world– _they lied to him!_ –but they had this much power and technology to track and kill resurrection ships and burned through a fleet to do so?

Yes, the _Prometheus_ was an advanced ship in some ways, all the stolen data proved that with their strange FTL drives and energy shielding, but it was just one ship and one world. It was impossible for Earth to field such large numbers of ships sufficient to attack both Colonials and Cylons at the same time.

Ten minutes later he rushed into the Resurrection ship's command room, still in a state of shock and confusion as he tried to reconcile what he knew as compared to what was happening now. The Earthers were attacking both the Colonials and his Cylon people.

 _Impossible_!

The precious ship nestled under the protection of fifty-threebasestars and countless fighters and support vessels with more flashes of light increasing the numbers every minute. As John plunged his hands into the liquid interface, his mind reeled in a renewed state of shock. The Colony was in the middle of an attack by ships using firepower that was completely unknown by the Cylons or the Colonials.

Another number One named Richard who looked a few years younger than John, glared at John as he plunged his own hands into the interface joining his cyber electronics with the ship. "Well you got your war. I hope you're happy."

"This is merely a setback," John grumbled attempting to take command of the situation. "Once we've recovered, we'll remove them and finish off the Colonials who are now weakened by this attack."

"What are you talking about," asked a model Three named Tanya. "The Colonials are being attacked by these forces? We've heard rumors but haven't had time to check them out, not with all of the fighting."

"The Colonials were attacked, their planets hit by nukes. Why did you start without me?"

"We didn't attack them," hissed Tanya.

"You didn't answer my question," John hissed back. "Why did you attack without my permission!?"

"We didn't!"

"My brother is insane," Richard muttered. "You haven't even started reading the reports, have you?"

"No," John admitted gruffly. "I've been busy resurrecting! I do know the Colonials were attacked and if we play this right we can hit the Colonials and finish off all twelve."

"If we survive!" another Three interjected since she was next to them both and couldn't help but to overhear the conversation.

"If we survive?" a number Two repeated. "That's laughable. Look at what's happening!"

And he did. "We're at Rally Point Omega?" He paused for a few moments in complete shock. "We're that far gone so quickly?" Worried, he brought up the records of the last six hours. "This can't be happening. How could the colonies..."

"Gods! How can you be so blind! Look in the stream!"

It couldn't be. Those ships were like nothing he ever seen before let alone imagined. They were tapered, with ugly greenish armor covering the ships. They used a single beam weapon like a laser and the engines if that was what they were, was nothing like any Colonial or Cylon would conceive of. They were alien.

 _Alien?_

And there were a lot of them. Whatever they were, they had attacked first, hitting Cylon defense forces hard. As he continued to 'see' in the data stream those ships were relentless and very, very hard to kill. Within hours they had broken through the primary Cylon defenses and destroyed two hubs despite every ship and every weapon used against them. They were relentless.

 _Could these attackers be the Earthers?_ He wondered. The ships in the data stream were different than the Thirteenth Colony ship but that was the only possibility that he could believe. But there was no question that they were hit without warning and with devastating effectiveness. They knew exactly where the Colony was, and they hit that first. That was a complete shock as the Cylon mobile home world's location was a closely guarded secret and these Earth people or whatever they were bypassed all Cylon security. A dozen extremely high-powered nukes hit from nowhere crippling the multiple FTL drives on the asteroid fortress and killing millions of Cylon clones and centurions.

Fascinated, he observed the data stream's recording of the first battle. To their credit his fellow Cylons weren't idle. The _Latos_ class basestars struck back. The heavy warships used every conventional and nuclear weapon in their arsenal and the lethal packages arched towards the enemy fleet. John smiled as he watched the sight. Seconds later, his mouth was opened in shock as most of the weapons fire missed or in a few instances impacted the larger vessels whose armor shrugged off the attacks. Those same ships fired back and butchered fighters and Cylon capitals that were built to defend against the heaviest of the newest Colonial battlestars. What worried him as that the enemies used beam weapons like lasers.

"We've been saying that for the last six hours!" one of the Fours loudly grumbled. And for clarification, those other…alien ships hit us first three days before the Earthers went after the Colonials and us."

"Why didn't someone tell me!" yelled the irate Number One.

"We were too busy trying to survive!" Tanya yelled. "You're not listening!"

"Why are we at the rally point? we should be strong enough to withstand…"

"Shut up," hissed Richard. "Keep looking."

As expected, many of the missiles were shot down but those that made it through the Earth defenses simply missed and that happened on a constant basis. "Why didn't our missiles lock on and hit their targets?" John asked completely perplexed by the erratic nature of the missiles. "Were they defective somehow? Were our defense tampered with?" For a moment he was frightened as unbidden thoughts of software tampering raced through his mind.

"No, John. As far as we can tell, the missiles did lock on, but they locked on too slowly. Our DRADIS can barely see them and we can't target them unless we get to point blank range and then they tear us apart with their beam weapons. Their anti-missile and fighter defenses are excellent. We can barely get through them. Their cruisers are even worse. They have some type of mothership out there. Must be ten miles long."

"That's impossible. The Earth people couldn't have such ships."

"That's not all. They have offensive beam technology! As you see, those are not lasers," the Four said. " _We_ don't even have laser weapons yet and that's not all, either."

"But…"

"Stop talking and keep watching!" yelled Richard.

Fuming, John continued. He almost disengaged himself from the wet works when he saw the already damaged Colony cracked apart by nuclear weapons of unbelievable power. But worse the resurrection hub was torn apart by particle beam before it too was nuked into oblivion."

"What is a particle beam," he asked.

The computer spat back an answer. _"A_ _particle beam is a theoretical_ _weapon that uses a high-energy_ _beam_ _of atomic or subatomic particles to damage a target by disrupting its atomic and or molecular structure."_

All his dreams, his plans were being ripped apart like cheap Colonial tissue paper. Basestars were cut apart at ranges that the Cylons couldn't hope to match. "Aha! The ship that used the nukes looked radically different. It looked more like an experimental design, a Colonial ship. See! See! They're working together! It's a trick, a coup of some sort!"

Richard looked at him…after he counted to ten. He continued. John either noticed or didn't care about his irritation. "As we said, the Colony and hub were hit three days ago. Those alien ships tore apart the jump engines. We couldn't have move it if we tried and believe me, we tried to. And you're correct. Some of the ships that are attacking are not of the same design as the main forces.""

"Of course, they're some advanced Colonial experiment." John looked at the collective Cylons with contempt. "Why didn't one of you geniuses' program raiders to jump on top of the enemy ships with nukes?" John asked. That was a plan that he and others had suggested off and on for years to be use as an offense against battlestars.

"Because," Caprica Six growled as she quickly joined the commune system, "in theory it sounds good, but the vectors are all but impossible to predict. Speed, trajectory, ECMS, of both ships. Weapons fire. The list goes on, not to mention that we can't accurately see them to target them! Their electronic countermeasures are more advanced than anything we've ever encountered. We can't hit what we can't accurately see."

"We should have tried," John yelled.

"They hit us hard," Richard said slowly. "We no longer have the resources to go on the offensive."

"John, you're refusing to see the big picture," a Four named James told him.

"They're Humans. They can't stop us."

The woman known as Caprica Six did her best not to scream. "They already have! They hit us first before they went after the Colonials. We've lost our resurrection hub, the Colony, and all but two of our resurrection ships. This one and the one tracking the Colonial fleet headed to Earth are the only ones left! We've lost billions. We'll never be able to get them back."

"You know the hub contained the patterns for billions of our people and it's lost," snapped James.

"How did they even find our resurrection ships? There's no way for Humans to track them. They don't even know about sub-space communications."

"Our best guess is that they're been tracking us using tachyon emissions."

"You're crazy. You can't use tachyons to track subspace emissions. We barely understand the characteristics of those, for a lack of a better word, particles. They can't be that advanced. How could they be?"

"It is obvious that they aren't working alone. Those alien ships…"

John snapped at the Three. "There is no such thing as aliens."

"Believe what you want," Theresa Six snapped right back. "I am calling them aliens. When we acquire a body for study, we'll know for sure. And if it makes you happy, maybe just some of them are aliens! Now, may I continue?"

John glared at her and then slowly nodded. "As far as we can tell, they used a tachyon grid to intercept subspace signals," the Six explained. "When we download, we send an omni-directional burst, a signal via medium we call subspace. The resurrection ships pick up the burst decodes and translates it, stores it, fills in backup data from the base file, organizes it and integrates it into a new body."

"Yes, yes, yes. You've studied. Get to the point."

The burst is microseconds in length but once detected the resurrection ship or hub will pick it up. But it also focuses on the direction of the download using the signal as a directional finder. This tachyon grid track sees the download and tracks the direction of the resurrection ship and the hub. The hub's power collected the downloads and properly translated the signal to the designated resurrection ship. When the hub was destroyed the resurrection ship had to rely on their independent collection systems. When we discovered how we were being tracked. We…turned off the collectors a few minutes ago."

"So, we can't collect any more of our brothers and sisters?"

"No."

"They're effectively dead?"

"Yes."

"Let me get this straight. You idiots lost the hub and the resurrection ships and lost our people. Then you turned off our remaining ship-in range of the Colonies and our space and we're losing millions more. Is that correct?"

"They hit us so hard that we had no choice but to retreat directly to Rally Point Omega. These patterns here," she said inside the data stream, "are all we have left."

"So, no more downloads. Only three million patterns besides what we have on station and whoever is alive in the Colonies. Oh, and those tracking the colonial fleet headed to Earth and are in storage on our _last_ resurrection ship. We're still trying to determine how many of our brothers and sisters were lost and are still in storage, or are trapped on the Colonies," Richard said. "Speaking of which John, you shouldn't have downloaded that last time. The system was off. So, my question is this: how did you resurrect when the system was turned off?"

The Cavil shrugged. "I had certain protocols in place. But that doesn't matter." He wanted to hit back, and also change the subject as quickly as possible. His fellow Cylons didn't need to know anything more than they already did. "What resources do we have left?"

"Everything you see here on the interface," announced a disgusted Caprica.

John pulled his hands out of the interface as if he were scaled. They'd lost everything but was at the rally point. he couldn't believe it. the Humans had set them back decades if not longer.

"Humans did this." He glared his fellow Cylons for a full minute before he spoke again. "Can you hear it? The Colonials are laughing at us. The Humans have killed us, turned us into a dead-end race. Can you hear their laughter?"

"No," Richard grunted, looking at his brother with a very dangerous glint in his eyes. "I can't say I do. We're here to develop solutions, not wait to die. The Humans are not the problem here. If they were, it wouldn't matter. We have to survive this if we're going to survive at all."

John wasn't listening as his brow furrowed in thought. "How many basestars do we have left?"

"Forty-three in various states of readiness, eight that might as well be scrap, and twelve following the Earth expedition. We have two resurrection ships, one here and the other with the fleet tracking Earth. That's it."

"We lost fifty percent of the fleet," John said. "Yes, and did you hear the message the enemy sent us?"

"No," John admitted. He'd assume it was sort of ultimatum. It really didn't matter to him now. Humans were always so predictable.

"They demand our complete and unconditional surrender. They know we have Human forms. They declared that they have use for such machines."

Those words angered John and forced his worst fears to slap at him.

"Slavery," he whispered. "It was a Human voice, wasn't it?"

"As far as we could tell," answered Richard. "It has a strange accent we can't place."

"And you fools can't conclude that it's probably the Earthers," John snarled. "They're the ones with ray guns!"

"We're convinced those arrow ships are not from wherever the _Prometheus_ comes from. The technology is too _different_. A blind person could see that," Richard countered.

"What about the other ship that used the nukes?"

"We don't know about those vessels," Caprica admitted. "Those may be Human. It had shields."

"Of course, they did," he answered confidently as it proved his point. "Fifty percent. It'll have to do." He plunged his hands back into the water-like fluid interface. "If we must die then we'll deny the Earthers the Colonies."

"Wait," Caprica screamed as she tried to counter the commands he was imputing.

"Don't stop me," a crazed John said. "If we can't survive this attack, and that's what you're all saying, you miserable pack of defeatists, then we can make sure we get revenge for what they done to us."

"John, what are you doing?" demanded Natalie.

John had submerged his hands into the stream and other Cylons also in the stream were alarmed as they found themselves being locked out of the system.

We need to deny Earth of their prize. Every available basestar will perform our Omega jump protocol to the Colonials worlds. Every nuke, every bomb, every bullet will pour into those worlds cleansing them all of Human filth as our ships crash onto the surface. The same will happen to Earth when the Fleet finds Earth. The Cylons will be slaves to no one. The universe will be cleansed of Human filth even if we all die doing it!"

"Caprica's face went blank and then turned to rage as she tried to pull him away from the interface. "We're not sacrificing our people in some final glorious act of suicide for your twisted satisfaction."

"So, what are we going to do?" he snidely asked as he resisted her. "Run? The Humans will run us down like dogs! No, if we can't win then they won't either. We're machines! Death to us ultimately doesn't matter. There is only the completion of our mission!"

"You're insane," Richard yelled.

"No, I'm dedicated. Now leave me alone and let…"

 _BAM!_

"Thank God!" a Four yelled in relief as all of the Cylons stared at the hole in John's head leaking its excuse for brains spilling out as his body flopped to the floor.

"Well done, A17523D," Caprica said gratefully to the centurion still pointing its converted hand gun at what was left of John's head. "Thank you."

"By your command," it answered.

"Box this defective program and delete it!" Natalie demanded.

"Excellent idea, Conoy."

An Eight who witnessed the entire affair ran to do just that.

" _The poison will be purged. The path is clear for the seven to choose their destiny.""_

"Can you believe that?" Caprica said in awe. "Even the hybrid is agreeing with us."

"Warning! the children of the First World that is not will not rest until the children and the parents and the First of the First worlds are naught. Jump engines are optimal."

Caprica's mind was racing. They didn't have time for this. "Order all of our remaining resources to our rally point. Then we'll decide what to do."

"We need to help the others who can't get to us."

"You know we can't. The Earthers will run us down," Caprica said as her mind whirled with the hybrid's warning. She was telling them to run and so as soon as possible.

Fear permeated the Cylons at levels the Colonials had never achieved. "We can't leave our people alone and abandoned."

"We can't help them right now," Richard said. "If they try to download, they die and most of them will choose to do so because they don't know the system is turned off."

"We need to do something," Theresa pleaded. "Humans don't abandon their own and we can't afford not to."

"This place isn't safe," Richard said.

"Agreed," Natalie second. "It's most probably compromised already."

"Years of preparation and planning," Richard mused. "One close range resurrection ship left. The Colony all but destroyed no resources within close reach. We need to leave now and develop some sort of plan before the Earthers can find us and pick us clean."

"Can we find a place where we can be safe?" asked a worried looking Theresa.

"I don't know," confessed Richard. "But we need time to think and consolidate what we have left if we want to survive. There is an area of space in the Hentis sector that might offer a quick sanctuary."

Conoy looked thoughtful. "It is isolated. It might just work for now."

"Then let's do it," Richard said. "Are we in agreement?"

 _Everyone nodded._

" _By your command,"_ the hybrid said, shocking everyone by adding her voice to the seven.

Next Chapter: Why do people monologue?

Answer: To let the viewers and readers know what is really happening!


	11. Book II Chapter V

_**Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **Chapter V**_

" _ **Earth War-Part 1"**_

 _ **Cyrannus Star System**_

 _ **Battlestar Galactica**_

"Eight cruisers and twelve destroyers, and three heavy missile-class Strikestars," Lieutenant Gaeta relayed to Adama. The younger man almost slumped to the floor but managed to pull himself up and back into position. The first-aid drugs were wearing off quickly considering how bad his arm felt. Standing and working with a broken arm under battle conditions was as bad as anything he could imagine, and he hated it. "We've got forty-nine civilian ships converging on our position." He was focused on DRADIS, but he could imagine the frantic screams of the officers and crew blaring through the _Galactica_ ' _s_ communications screaming for help. The word hadn't gotten out yet an it was likely that every one of those civilian ships were detecting 'Cylon' fighters homing in on them ready to fire missile at them sending them all to a fiery, agonizing death. "Some are redlining their engines trying to get to us." There was a minor tremor throughout the ship as another engine violently gave up then ghost. Gaeta slipped and hit the floor, howling for a moment as the pain washed over him.

Colonel Tigh glanced at the now fallen man. "You've done enough," he said matter-of-factly. Gaeta was a good DRADIS officer but beyond that, Tigh had little use for such a weakling. If it were him with a broken arm, he would still be at his station ignoring his pain by sheer force of will. Even if his eye was ripped from its socket, they would still have to drag him from his post. "Weak piece of felttercarb," he whispered too softly for anyone to hear. But he was still needed, and would be useful in the future, provided they survived the next few hours. It took him a moment to decide whether to help pick him up from the floor. There were others who deal with him. "Get to the life station, Lieutenant," he dismissed. He didn't have time for sentiment in the middle of a battle. It could get you killed. "Lieutenant Anastasia Dualla, take over. I want to know the instant any Earther shows up on the grid."

"Yes, sir," the no nonsense woman responded, immediately taking over Gaeta's station in a smooth, professional action that Tigh could appreciate.

Adama turned away from the DRADIS station. "Lieutenant Hoyt, I want an update on fleet status. I want to know what's happening." He then whispered to Tigh. "Update on the _Galactica_."

The look of concern etched all over his face, told the story. "Our short-range communications are restored. We have to replace the entire long-range comms. The replacements should be ready in about two hours if there's enough crew to rush the job. We're using the _Unidynal_ as a long-range trans-communications carrier for now. Two main engines are working, number three and number seven. Number four just went a minute ago. Three quarters of our thrusters are offline. _Unidynal's_ engineers are doing their jobs helping with the repairs, but the old gal's structural integrity is shot. Even if we used the main engines she might break up. With our luck, that's what would happen. Forward guns are okay, but we don't have any way to supply them other than with the ordinance that's already there. We can jump but there's a good chance that we won't get to where we want to go in one piece. We can only move at a snail's pace. We're target practice, Bill."

"What did they hit us with? It looked like a laser," Adama said.

"We think it was some type of plasma weapon, or maybe a particle weapon" Tigh answered. "Real sci-fi stuff. Very powerful and hit had some serious kick behind it."

"Plasma?" Adama wondered in shock. "Not laser?"

"No, not at that slow speed. Whatever it was, it tore apart the landing bay just as we jumped. We're lucky that any of us are still alive. Some of their nukes are like nothing I have ever seen."

The Commander shook his head in dismay and anger. "The _Unidynal_ is reporting that a lot of the fighting is centering near Picon and Caprica space. Even if we had long-range communications, there's heavy EM and jamming interference, making comms almost impossible. Our forces are using raptors to communication just like the old days before we started getting our first gen subspace communications."

Adama glared at the updated data map supplied by the _Unidynal_ , taking off his glasses to rub his eyes. "There are Earth forces right near the Tancea asteroid fields attacking our forces here and here," he said as he pointed to the locations to the Commander on the digital map in front of them. "We're right at the edge of the fighting. We need to get the civilians out of our way. These people don't seem interested in taking hostages."

"Half those civilian ships don't have jump engines. The slower ones were heading for Tauron when the fighting started. They're being told to continue to head for Tauron as fast as they can. That will get them out of our way in case the balloon goes up. They'll have two destroyer escorts," Tigh added before being interrupted by lieutenant Hoyt.

"Commander, the cruisers have been able to burn through some of the jamming. Our forces are passing intelligence to us. I have some preliminaries from Fleet Command. I'm patching it through now."

Both senior officers turned to the commander's monitor and watched as the information began scrolling across the screen. "Gods, Bill. Three of their small gunships can take on a battlestar," Tigh whispered. "Fleet has no idea what type of FTL they're using but they are using it to jump directly into formations and letting the energy tear our ships apart."

"They tried to do that to us," Adama nodded."

Tigh hissed as he read the numbers. "Eight confirmed battlestar kills in the Fifth Fleet alone. That's the whole group. Five of the Earther ships, the small ones were damaged. Only one confirmed kill. Those fracken shields the flaunted us with all those years ago. We can barely blow through them."

"Has Central Command re-called the fleets from the border?" Adama asked, which sounded like a that should have been implemented a long time ago.

"No idea," Tigh answered. "We've no reports about the recall from our data bursts. As much as I hate to say it, we need those reinforcements. If we can't protect ourselves from the Earthers right now, there's little use for us worrying about the Cylons."

Adama stared at him for an instant, shocked by his friend's comments. The man hated Cylons more than another person Adama knew and for him to say what he had just said had to have cost him.

Tigh must have seen the look in his commander's eyes and simply shrugged. "Gods, I need a drink," he muttered to himself although he doubted if he could even _get_ drunk at a time like this.

"Sir, short-ranged DRADIS just picked up an EM burst. Defense forces are detecting a dozen corvette-sized ships with heavy fighter escorts entering our sector. We believe the EM burst was the result of them jumping into normal space. There are twelve thousand kilometers out vectoring in on our position. we're being scanned."

Commander Adama gritted his teeth. "Make sure action stations are ready for eminent contact with enemy." He turned to Lieutenant Jansan. "How much power do we have left for our engines? Can we move at all?"

"We have twenty percent functional power, sir," was the stiff response. "Secondary forward weapons are online. Primary weapons are limited to what we have on hand in the forward magazines. Missile on our portside bays are functional and active. Nothing on starboard. But the fires are out."

 _Small comfort._ "We're sitting ducks here like this," grumbled Tigh. "We can't move and are primary guns and less than fifteen shots before we run dry. We still haven't even rescued some of the survivors yet. And, we can't run."

"Then, we had to fight. Order all missile bays to prepare for firing. Fire control, Nukes are authorized. Repeat, nuclear ordinance are authorized to be fired at my order. Our missile suppression guns are functional. If they use missiles against us, I want a wall of flak protecting us. The last thing we need is one of those super nukes to it us."

"As far as we know, they've only used two. Might be in limited supply, Tigh mused. "Or they're saving them for something else."

Adama, deep in thought didn't answer. "Have what's left of our vipers and raptors join the rest of the squadrons try to keep those Earther ships off our back. We just have to let the cruisers and destroyers do their jobs and support them as best we can. Calculate jump coordinates for the Gemenon Pythia ship yard," he said after a moment's hesitation.

Tigh nodded slowly, knowing the reasoning behind his commanders' orders. The shipyard was small and likely (hopefully) not known to the Earthers. If the _Galactica_ made it, it was good. If not, then some of the crew might survive after that final jump.

"It's a gamble if worse comes to worse," Tigh grumbled. "Gods help the civilians who can't get out of the line of fire."

Three minutes earlier, Major Hatashi Kinto gritted his teeth against the tremendous acceleration he always loathed, pulling him from jump space into normal space. Going through scores of such transitions, he remembered his training which kept him from throwing up into his helmet. Nevertheless, he once more thanked his ancestors watching over him, for allowing him to become part of Earthforce _after_ the R &D figured out how to minimize the physical effects of deceleration in smaller craft. There was a time not too long ago when civilian ships required nearly an hour to decelerate to reasonable speeds after transitioning from jump space into normal space. Combat decelerating, no matter what the military propaganda advertisement to the contrary, was a brutal affair and left long-term depilating effects on those who constantly transition into and exiting from jump space. A few years of fighters and small ships constantly going through those transitions could cripple the strongest man or woman. Technology had improved considerably in the last few years. He no longer feared becoming a crippled old man just because he served his country. Despite the discomfort, he felt exhilaration for being a part of this glorious but very critical mission.

His parents were so proud that he was one of those honored to travel to a new universe. All those years of training, all those years of frantic modifications by Earth Alliance scientists and theoreticians, all the preparations, and worry about what they might find in a new universe and how it might affect them were over. They all were spot on. There was no catastrophic cascade failure, no 'universal' rejection of the ships and crews. This was in fact already proven when the hated Tau'ri ship pushed its way into Earth Alliance affairs. Now he was honored to be part of the tip of the spear, to be among the first to see the fruits of more than fifteen years of hard work. Now, their vengeance against the Tau'ri was beginning. The first wave of the Earth Alliance strike force had revealed themselves to these Colonials and he was proud to be part of the vanguard of that initial thrust towards the Tau'ri home world and retribution.

These 'Colonials weren't responsible for what the Tau'ri did, but they were related to them and they possessed resources that the Alliance desperately needed. Those resources were needed back at home. President Clark and the Council of Justice understood the need for the sacrifice of some for the greater good. These Colonies were a potential threat and according to all the surveillance data, they would likely side with the false Earth. These Kobollian Colonists were Human, but they were not part of his universe.

It really was an amazing concept. He would have never believed it if there weren't proof of concept, namely the Tau'ri traitors and not for the first time did he wonder if these traitors knew how much they were hated. The Council of Justice had long ago concluded that these Colonials were as bad as the Centauri and other aliens that fought against the Earth Alliance's right to survive and expand in his universe. And those threats and dangers at home were numerous.

Aliens surrounded his Earth and they were always waiting to take advantage of any weakness. The Narn were little more than pirates and thieves. The Vree were cowards and backstabbers. The Abbai were all but useless, and the Centauri were the worst of the lot. Those aliens were decadent, lazy, dishonorable, and their government was ruled by an insane lunatic that exuded hostility against Earth and openly threatened war numerous times.

The Drazi… No one understood why they willingly changed so drastically.

All aliens were treacherous and mankind, his mankind, if they were to survive couldn't dare let their guard down. Earth Alliance had to be able to defend themselves from those threats.

Most people of Earth still remembered President Morgan Clark's electrifying inauguration speech the day as he ascended to the Presidency after the death of President Elizabeth Levy three years after the false Earth ship _Achilles_ fled. Everyone knew that alien sympathizers had poisoned her, but the killers had gotten away. The Minbari resistance was blamed but it was never proven. President Clark asked the billions of people watching him, "what do you want? What do we, as a species, want? We _know_ what we want! We want to survive, to thrive, to protect ourselves against our enemies. We want to be able to protect ourselves from all of the aliens that seek our destruction. We want revenge on the traitors that brought us to the brink of annihilation by refusing to aid us when we needed them the most. We want to be safe. We want the power to be what we want to be!"

In light of that, Kinto often wondered how Humans could side with the genocidal Minbari over their own kind. It didn't really matter now. The Minbari were nearly extinct now and Earth Alliance had very long memories concerning traitors.

It was true that the Tau'ri initially helped defend Earth against the Minbari as none of the historical accounts dispute that. Some of their technologies were incredible, like the sensors which had the ability to burn through Minbari stealth. That went a very long way in allowing Earth to defend itself. During those terrible times though, it wasn't enough, not nearly enough. EF needed the FTL hyperdrive system that the Tau'ri had as well as the much faster computer technology. Earth needed those devastating beam weapons that could turn Minbari armor into melted cheese. And most of all, they need the Tau'ri energy shields that would have made Earthforce ships invulnerable to any Minbari attack. With those technologies, the war could have been easily won and afterwards, Earth would have been secured from any attack in a matter of months. But the Tau'ri would not share those technologies with their brothers.

None of the events that subsequently occurred would have happened if only General Jack O'Neill had decided to side with his Earth cousins and given them the technology to defend themselves properly. If nothing else, he should have given Earth Alliance the technology to produce energy shielding for themselves. But he didn't. In fact, according to the history books, the documentaries and first-hand eyewitnesses, he was responsible for nearly destroying the government politically by releasing classified documents to the public and the Minbari, threatening to destroy any legitimate Earth Force vessels trying to minimize the situation, resisting lawful arrest, and threatening to use high-yield nuclear ordinance to destroy the very heart of the government in Geneva Switzerland. His actions and those people under his authority and by default, his traitorous world have never been forgotten. And, that world he came from would never escape justice. That was one of Clark's inauguration promises, one he has always intended to keep and now, it was coming close to being fulfilled.

President Clark's political career was almost destroyed by the debacle when the lies planted by O'Neill circulated throughout the planetary net. It was little wonder that he hated the oppressive Tau'ri government and that world with a passion.

He, like most of the new world government, interpreted O'Neill's actions as a precursor to a future war in which the Tau'ri would have a critical advantage when they came back to attack and conquer Earth, if there were anything left of the planet and its people. But Earth survived, and the Tau'ri invasion would never happen because Earth Alliance would strike back first.

The Minbari had superior numbers of ships and a fanatical will to commit genocide despite numerous entreaties by Earth Alliance to come to the peace table. As a prideful people unused to accepting anything less than total victory, they could not conceive of bowing down to a so-called lesser race. They rejected peace talks as many of their warrior castes refused to accept the fact that they could be defeated or even fought to a standstill by _mere_ Humans. Only after the fact that Earthforce discovered a new use for Quantium 40 as an enhancement for nuclear explosives did Earth Force really began to hurt the Minbari in small-scale engagements. The discovery of the new use for that very expensive and precious element came from the Tau'ri's use of an even rarer mineral based on element Q40. The Q-nuke wasn't as powerful as the Tau'ri version, but they were magnitudes more effective than anything else that EF had at the time.

Those losses should've brought the boneheads, as he referred to them, to the table, but it just made the situation worse. After the traitors threatened to nuke Earth and then fled, all reports indicated that the Minbari were pushing for a final strike against Earth. They would attack and turn Earth into a desolate wasteland using overwhelming forces and then exterminate every remaining colony that Earth had remaining as they returned to their borders. The war was already genocidal however the Minbari warrior caste went collectively insane at the thought of losing to a lesser people. No words would stop them from completing their unholy mission.

Documentation proved that the Tau'ri warship's victories over the much feared Minbari _Sharlin_ war cruisers had made the Minbari more cautious. Despite vehement denials the Minbari were afraid of the Tau'ri ship and their allies, those pyramid looking ships, and what they represented.

When their very public departure of those traitors was confirmed, this once more left Earth Alliance to face the Minbari wrath alone. Even with the new defensive technologies filtering throughout the fleets, there wasn't enough time. The two thousand strong Minbari war machine was still too powerful. They had been chastened by their defeats but would not stop until every single Human was dead and Earth a smoldering rock. The people of Earth were forced to use a final weapon, one they hesitated to use because of the political damage that it would cause once they did use it.

President Levy approved the decision that would doom the Minbari. She ordered General Franklin to take his son's, Doctor Stephen Franklin's, medical and biological notes and data he had collected on Minbari physiology and biology. Stephen, realizing what was about to happen, tried to destroy it but his own father, flanked with MPs stopped him, literally shooting him in the leg to keep them from destroying those precious notes and data files. From those notes frantic researchers were able to create biological weapons specifically tuned to Minbari physiology.

The bioweapon had a significant incubation time, more than three months. During that time the viral cocktail appeared perfectly harmless, giving no suggestion of its danger. This allowed the prion/viral agents to spread throughout the population without detection unwittily carried by infected Centauri information traders and Minbari prisoners who 'managed' to escape to the warrior caste. The Minbari were infected in every subsequent land engagement with Earthforce GROPOS. One of the greatest military secrets of the time was the battle of the Kallar colony. Five hundred GROPOS, secretly infected with the bioweapon, fought and died to the last man against a superior force of Minbari ground forces. Those Minbari 'victors' were infected by the airborne, highly contagious agent that Minbari agents couldn't even detect.

Within a month, ten percent of the population were infected. In two months forty percent of the Minbari home world and several colonies were infected. After the three-month incubation period, the viral agent activated, and the horror began as the Hanta/Ebola-based viral agents began is deadly mission, burning through more than ninety-seven percent of the population of Minbar and its colonies. Twelve hours after the symptoms appeared, the victims were either dead, crippled, or carriers. Earth scientists did their job well. Less than two percent of the Minbari population were immune to the viral agent. Billions of Minbari started dying before they were even aware that the plague was so widespread. The Minbari civilization collapsed, and within weeks the war was effectively over. In the end, only three million Minbari survived the plague and they never knew that Earth was the cause of their downfall until long after the war. It was a terrible secret Earth never officially acknowledged for over fifteen years, although it was an open secret to most of the alien governments for more than a decade.

Stephen Franklin blamed himself for the genocide and took his own life. His father was never the same after his son's death; but, he always maintained that he never regretted his decision to protect his world either even though that cost was the death of his own son. Earth's status as a galactic power not to be trifled with. When the alien races eventually discovered what Earth had done, relations with most of the major powers were strained and Earth was essentially isolated from the stellar community. Since the Great War, President Clark was proven right time and again when he insisted that aliens were a threat to the survival of Humanity. The Minbari war prove that and the small conflicts with the Centauri and the treacherous Streib was further evidence that aliens could not and should not be trusted. President Clark and the military also understood the importance of the events that happened when the Tau'ri turned on their fellow brothers and sisters. It was their fault that Earth Alliance was forced to use biological weapons to subdue the Minbari, creating their own form of genocide.

The Colonel did feel a small bit of remorse for the Minbari but not enough to really change his overall hatred of those people. He remembered the fear at the time that permeated everyone he knew. "The Minbari were coming," was the phrase that everyone whispered. He remembered his history quite well since his father told him about the war over and over, plus reading the history books made him want to become part of Earthforce, the protector of Humanity unlike those traitors.

After the end of the Minbari war, the spoils were humanities for the taking. In the next ten years, Earth's technology advanced significantly. The scientific treasure troves gleaned from them made Earth Alliance one of the most powerful of the stellar younger nations. But the others were jealous, especially the Centauri. The President is acutely aware that for Earth to survive, it had to subdue every race in the sector or risk destruction, hence the reason why these Colonials were targeted. This Colonial nation had vast resources that Earth Alliance needed. Those resources could easily be shipped back through the rift sing the new shielding system developed by IPX and the EA R&D. Most importantly, they were the road to the Tau'ri. They knew exactly where the Tau'ri home world was located.

Kinto was also proud to be a senior ranking member of the Ministry of Justice embedded into Earthforce. He was fully aware of his President's plans and fully supported them. Like Clark, he and many others were true believers. But unlike others, he was in the loop, knowing exactly what the ultimate plans were. The Colonials knew the precise location as they had sent an expedition to Earth using their admittedly impressive but slower FTL jump drives. For years, beacons were placed around Colonial and Cylon space and beyond for thousands of light years in the general proposed direction of the Tau'ri. Those associates were, in his opinion, less than forthcoming about the location of the Tau'ri home world. The President called them givers of breadcrumbs. Typical alien trash. When EA was strong enough, those associates would be put in their place. It was going to be chaotic but there was strength in chaos. Chaos made one strong. Clark was on point about that.

The Tau'ri (who dared to call their world Earth. They had no right to the name!) and aliens were made of the same cloth, treacherous and traitors all. Why the Council accepted help from the Drazi and those 'associates' was something that for the life of him, he couldn't wrap his head around. He understood the reasoning, but this way was a means to an end that could easily blow up in their faces if they weren't careful. Many of his colleagues quietly agreed with him. There were heavy odds betting that both of those aliens would betray Earth before the year was out. It was very hush, hush but even Las Vegas were playing the odds and silently encouraged it while the Council looked the other way.

With the defeat of the Minbari, Earth's reputation as a power was established throughout the sectors of space. The Non-aligned League of Worlds, the Centauri, the Narn, the Drazi, and of course remnant of the Minbari all respected, feared and hated Earth Alliance. With access to all of the Minbari technology, Earth Alliance's understanding of science in dozens of areas grew in leaps and bounds, something that President Clark's administration strongly encouraged. Constant vigilance was Earth Alliance's mantra. Those aliens were still out there, still a threat. They were jealous of Earth's progress and they were afraid and being afraid, they became aggressive. There were many reasons why 'Clark's little wars' were so necessary. Earth Alliance had become a fortress for a reason.

O'Neill's people were about to receive firsthand knowledge that they would never escape justice and they would pay for betraying their _fellow_ Humans. Tens of thousands of the new generation of Earthforce enlisted men and women were sworn to bring the Tau'ri traitors to justice. It was President Clark's plan to unify all of Humanity wherever it was, into one glorious Alliance; but first, they required the massive amounts of infrastructure and ships. These Colonies of Kobol would help that dream become a reality. Their resources could easily be updated and converted for use by Earth Alliance in the coming war against the alien aggressors.

Earth Alliance was spreading fast and aliens were losing their fear of Earth's power. The Vree were actively hostile and somehow, they had Tau'ri-style FTL, which they must have somehow either stolen (not likely) or traded with the Tau'ri for! _Tau'ri traitors._ The Abbai were afraid of EA and he agreed that taking their shield technology and improving it went a long way for Humanity's security. The League governments were actively building their space fleets no doubt to hit Earth when they felt that were ready. Dozens of unknown aliens were being discovered and all of them were hostile.

It was as if there were forces in the background stirring up hatred against Earth and everyone else.

But the Ministry of Peace and the Ministry of Justice also knew that eventually the survivors of the Tau'ri world(s) and the Colonials would be absorbed into Earth Alliance and brought to established 'safe' colonies to become loyal members of EA. when they could be properly initiated. Or, if necessary they would, regrettably, have to be put down for the betterment of all concerned. The so-called Tau'ri, who dared to call their home world Earth had no right to even utter the name, not after what they did! Just because they were from another universe didn't mean they would escape justice.

' _Enough of this diatribe'_ he thought bemused by the fact he was mentally monologuing. _'Now is not the time to rehash the past. No one but historians and people who read their books will care'._ He needed to focus on the now or risk doing something stupid and getting himself killed.

Major Hatashi Kinto, like so many of his generation who entered the service after the war, was a true believer, just to type of soldier that President Clark loved to serve under him. Most never questioned too deeply why Earth Alliance had turned into a fascist state as all of the threats in the galaxy _were_ trying to kill them. Those people that did question the shadowy road that Earth was heading, disappeared in the early days of the Clark administration. Those that rebelled against the Earth Alliance mandate were confined and reeducated. The defiant colonies were reigned in. Earth Alliance was more united than ever against the alien threat as it should be. The few rebels that were left were being hunted down and would soon be only a footnote in the history books, if that.

Kinto's threat indicators on his HUD immediately lit up as targeting beams crisscrossed his modified SA-38 block-C _Thunderbolt_ star fury was pinged. The Minbari-based stealth system kept his fighter from being locked onto at this range but the enemy knew that his squadron was closing in. He felt the thrill of anticipation. This was what he was trained for and was very eager to mix it up with these 'other Humans'. Targeting systems identified thirty-seven targets ripe _

"Stay tight," Captain Kara 'call sign Starbuck' Trace ordered her squadrons of vipers who were rapidly closing in on their Earth counterparts position. "Remember, they have a longer strike range than we do just like the chrome heads. We have to hit them several times to kill them. They have crystalline armor that makes them hard to kill. They're hard to track and we have to get in close, but little things like that won't bother us. That's what we do. Stay frosty and remember your training." She cursed silently. Getting in close was going to be a difficult challenge without casualties.

Her sixteen viper Mark VII class were the points of the sword in this engagement. The Mark VIIs were recent upgrades, anticipating the newer Cylon fighters developed during the cold war. Both Cylon and Colonial continually advanced their fighters naturally assuming the other side would do the same. As a result, ECM systems had advanced significantly in the last five years.

The three raptors configured for long-ranged support were following up some thirty kilometers back, providing much needed logistical and tactical support. Two of the raptors provided the newly developed heavy ECM burn units and DRADIS support crucial for the survival of the combat group.

Despite not participating in actual combat with the Cylons, Starbuck was more than thankful for the upgrades in technology designed to combat Cylon infiltration and ECM capabilities. She was upset that the upgrades couldn't burn through capital Earth ships' impressive stealth systems, but the smaller fighters were another matter. They didn't have the power to continually spoof her fighters or raptors for long. It made for a more even fight. Of course, the enemy was using lasers or ray guns of some kind which had a longer and more effective kill range. But targeting and hitting your targets were another matter and her people and the other pilots excelled in evading attacks from multiple vectors before hitting back. Those anti-Cylon tactics would help to keep her people alive.

" _Vigilantes and Primus squadron actual, we have thirty fighters inbound. DRADIS sees two, repeat two gunstar class ships forty klicks behind the fighters. There may be more coming into range. Will update."_

"Acknowledged. All squadrons, prepare for engagement."

" _Vigilantes actual, Black Wolves squadron coming up on your nine o'clock low,"_ said Captain Emandes from the _Unidynal_ combat group. His squadron of sixteen were charging in fast waiting to join the others. Another fourteen vipers and five raptors would join them in two minutes at their six. He was deferring to Starbuck as she had the most experience fighting the Earthers and they all knew that they would need all their firepower to combat the two Earth gunstars trailing the fighters.


	12. Book II Chapter VI

_**Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **Chapter VI**_

 _ **"Earth War-Part 2"**_

 _ **Cyrannus Star System:**_

" _Missile alert!"_ announced Strike One, the second raptor designate dedicated to DRADIS and ECM counter measures. " _Thirty-two inbound. Conventional."_

Starbuck frowned at the warning. The enemy had initiated their launch earlier than she had expected and her DRADIS hadn't detected them until after Boomer had warned them. What surprised her even further was that the missiles were slower than their standard Colonial counterpart. That made her smile. Any advantage in combat was good. Now, she had to see how 'smart' those missiles were. "All squadrons go active. Remember your training."

* * *

Major Kinto glanced at his LIDAR and felt mildly disappointed. He was expecting a somewhat easier mission. He was anticipating what was to come next and this delay was irritating. Those Colonials were good. Their fighters were already spoofing the missiles and shooting them out of the sky with an impunity that surprised him. Intel reports had informed Earthforce that their fighters were overall unarmored and weapons weak, but in some ways equal in maneuverable capability to the starfuries, but he hadn't fully believed it, not when taking into consideration the upgrades that his squadron had been outfitted with.

His Tactical Fight Officer, Jennifer Charita, grumbled softly, "Not one of our targets were hit." The brunette was as disappointed as he was as the lack effectiveness of their missiles.

Kinto didn't respond to his TFO's comment. But he had to admit that he was an impressive feat for supposedly inferior fighters. Well, his squadron would have to do this the hard way.

The short-lived Centauri conflict at Proxima ten years earlier, proved the star fury's capabilities and effectiveness. The updated _Thunderbolt_ had a four to one kill ratio against the Centauri _sentries_. The Earthforce capital ships were even more effective against the Centauri capitals. The Centauri suffered a disastrous defeat, one that nearly caused Emperor Catagia to go catatonic with rage. As punishment for the defeat by 'the human trash', and the failure to contain Earth's expansionist activities into supposedly Centauri territory, the madman ordered the beheading of most of his admiralty. Those actions appeased his rage, but it didn't stop humanity's military from dominating everything it touched. The antagonism continued to simmer between Earth Alliance and the Centauri Republic. It was another enemy that EA would have to deal with an immediate future. But for the moment, these Colonists had to be dealt with. "Yellow Jackets three and four, arm nukes. Initiate launch. We'll thin them out before we tangle."

" _Roger that, Yellow Jacket One. Initiating launch in five seconds."_

"Roger that. Heads up. Let the nukes do their job." He chided himself for not doing this at first. But he was trying to save his nukes for the larger targets. "When enemy has been thinned out, we mop up what's left. Leave the capitals alone for now. Let the _Olympus_ gunboats do their job."

Kinto, like any good commander, had no intentions of losing any of the men and women under his command. The tactical nukes should thin out the numbers nicely allowing his people the cleanup what was left. But, he was also curious to see how they would respond to this attack.

Sixteen five kiloton nuclear tipped missiles launched from the bellies of the modified _Thunderbolts_.

* * *

" _Radiation alert! Inbound, sixteen nuclear missiles. Estimation, five kiloton range. Missiles are stealth with ECM. DEADIS is trying to burn through."_

"Understood." Kara half expected this. The first group of missiles were all but useless against her viper squadron. The most logical thing for them to do is what she would have done. Try to thin the enemy out using nukes. Well, her people were experts in dealing with this type of attack as well. During the long cold war with the Cylons, they had practice all sorts of scenarios this was one of them. "Can we get a lock on incoming missiles?"

" _They're throwing out all kinds of interference, trying to confuse our DRADIS. Give us a few seconds to burn… got it._ Their stealth systems were good, but they weren't good enough, not against the newest countermeasures that her fighters and raptors possessed. " _Twenty seconds out and closing. We have clean locks."_

" _Black Wolf One to Vigilantes, we got this. Watch our backs."_

"We got your back, _Black Wolf One_ , Go for it. _Vigilantes_ and _Primus,_ pick a target and launch DAFMs."

"DAFMs launching. ECM are active and tracking."

Six seconds later, thirty-six Diana class anti-missile missiles vectored towards the Earthforce heavy space strike-fighters. EF countermeasures screamed warnings as the units tried to spoof the incoming missiles. The pilots were more than a bit stunned that their Minbari-EF hybrid systems were having so much difficulty trying to counter the Colonial missile tracking systems.

This marked the first time any 'alien' missile couldn't be completely confused by the stealth systems. Centauri, Vree and even the older Minbari strike missiles couldn't come close to any EF fighter so equipped. ECMs on both sides fought to protect or kill their targets. The UCF tactical system was considered all but jam-proof and had proved itself time and time again even against the feared Drazi Sky serpent fighter. The _Thunderbolts_ had proven themselves time and time again.

This time, EF fighters were forced to perform evasive maneuvers to keep from being hit and were forced out of position. Missiles on both sides passed one another trying to acquire and hit their targets.

The four _Black Wolf_ vipers fired their turbo boosters as each of them began firing their forward mounted thirty-millimeter mass accelerated depleted rounds. The relatively slow EF missiles' defensive protocols were smart enough to attempt to evade the incoming fire, but not smart enough to keep from being killed by the hunting vipers. The nukes hadn't had time enough to arm themselves before they were shot down.

Major Kinto's initial excitement turned into healthy caution, the type of caution that kept one alive. The enemy vipers had closed in and destroyed the missiles before they could go active and detonate and that was an important lesson for him and his squadron. Every alien government surrounding Earth Alliance didn't rely on missiles as primary weapons. In _that_ aspect, Earth was unique.

Not so here. These people used the same anti-missile protocols and knew what they were doing. "So much for beyond visual," he said to his crewmate. They would have to do this the hard way.

"Eight seconds before contact," Charita informed him.

His squadron would have wiped out Centauri or Narn fighters at well beyond visual range by now. This was turning out to be more intense than he first assumed it would be. "Everyone, mark your targets. Wingmen stay together. Take your targets down."

The first Colonial vipers flashed by him at less than four kilometers before his auto-Gatling pulse cannons fired. Radar and Lidar were almost useless as it struggled against the counter jamming. Furthermore, those little SOBs were fast. The spotting/ targeting computer registered a hit just as his peripheral vision saw a brief flash. One viper was gone he acknowledged just as his threat computer began blaring warnings. His fighter was hit twice, and his high port engine was crippled by Colonial anti-fighter rounds. Again, he was surprised those rounds had penetrated both his crystalline and standard armor. What type of canon shells were they using he wandered? Twisting his ship to track and kill the viper that had tried shred his fighter. He fired his twin Minbari-derived neutron pulse cannons missed as the viper darted out of the way.

His wingman had scored another kill an instant before he was bracketed by no less than three Colonial vipers who proceeded to tear his ship apart with their overpowered ordinance. The fighter broke up just before it exploded. Two more Starfuries tried to kill those same vipers and were having a devil of a time doing it. Radio chatter was jammed with pilots calling out targets or calling for assistance.

In the back seat, his Charita was busy yelling out targets while trying to bypass the damage inflicted on their fighter. Kinto barely heard her as he used every bit of zero-gee combat knowledge he had to get this persistent Colonial off his tail. "I got you!" he yelled, only to miss again. The pilot trying to kill him was crazy. Pulling a one-eighty turning at the speeds they were going should have torn that fighter apart. He felt a small stab on envy.

The second wave, a group of modified _Aurora_ star furies had just joined the fight and although heavily armored as compared to their earlier design counterparts, they are being hit and torn apart by the vipers. Highly maneuverable, they were still didn't have the speed to counter the hunting Colonials who were trained to fight against overwhelming odds. They scored kills but so did the enemy. The one-man fighters' formations were broken up and the vipers with raptor support fell on them like a school of Piranha smelling blood.

This battle had just turned into a firefight on a scale he'd never experienced before. Swinging his fury around in a one-eighty spin, he gutted another viper before the enemy he'd shaken off for a few seconds was on him firing, putting a score of heavy cannon shells across his starboard side. More emergency alarms sounded off. His backup avionics flickered and shorted out.

"I burned through its stealth," His Tactical Fight officer Jennifer Charita cried into her helmet transceiver while she focused on the short-range tracking system. She was busy trying to keep the robust weapons/radar system from shorting out due to enemy cannon shells. Plasma pulse were in a league all their own but Colonial close in weapons were nothing to sneer at as. So far, four of his Thunderbolts had found that out to the hard way. Seven others were severely damaged and were being forced to retreat from battle. "You only have a few seconds before I recalibrate again!"

"Roger that. Target acquired firing," he yelled back at her. Trace rounds flew passed his fighter coming too close for comfort. Neutron-based lasers shot out from his gun ports, targeting the Viper with a red striped tail which he assumed was their leader. And… He missed! "Impossible".

It seemed as if whomever was piloting the craft anticipated what he was about to do and had literally moved his fighter out the way. Activating his thrusters, he pulled his fighter into a tight one-eight turn, so that he could fire at is designated target and once more, and to his shock, the enemy fighter had already done the exact same thing and was already firing. The viper was perforating his ship with high velocity kinetic rounds, lots of them. The rounds tore into his ship destroying crystalline armor, turning it into shrapnel. But the robust crystalline armor had done his job and kept his behind from being blown apart. Adrenaline fueling his reflexes and sweat pouring from forehead threatening to blind him, he tried to reacquire his target only to see that his target had went evasive was now turning, vectoring for a second attack run.

 _That pilot was gifted…_ The last thing he needed was an overachiever trying to make him the latest _silhouette on the side of his fighter. For a second, he toyed with activating his shield. But that only gave him five seconds of respite while the power hog drained his power. Plus, it screwed with his maneuverability, and that was the last thing he needed in this fight._

His wingman was gone, killed by these Colonials and he intended to make these people pay in blood and fire as soon as he killed this pilot. Then, he'd rejoin and reform his squadron, reform and kill them all. After he got that viper off his tail! Suddenly the continual shredding of his armor stopped. Thank the ancestors! Two of his fellows saw his dilemma and had come to his aid.

"Whoever that was did a number on us," his TFO told him. "What kind of ammo are they using? We have damage across the board. We have to pull out of this before I can affect any repairs."

"Weapons status?"

"The system's overheating. We lost two cooling units for the plasma weapons. You have about three minutes of firepower before we burn them out."

"How many missiles do we have left? I'm seeing error codes."

"Six missiles left. Two of them are offline. The launch release clamps. They won't release."

"No choice. We have to pull back," Kinto growled. In this condition, his fighter was useless except for target practice now. Communications were alive with Earthforce pilots being put through their paces. The vipers were paper thin when it came to armor, but their tri-cannons were supremely dangerous. These people specialized in close range combat techniques and their experience showed. Earthforce fighters specialized in long-ranged BVR combat techniques. They were at a disadvantage here. His people were relying too much on radar and lidar targeting systems to do the job for them. That weakness was evident now as enemy vipers ripped them apart with decreasing efficiency.

"Pulling back behind the gunboats. That should give us some cover until we can get back to combat effectiveness.

"Roger that."

The major broke off combat and quickly punched in the waypoint coordinates and began accelerating towards his support gunboat. The _Olympus_ support designate lingered behind the others. Tearing his eyes away from his HUD he saw dozens of flashes of light in the distance. The fighting was a little too far for him to see what was happening. But the frantic transmissions were telling. Despite the armor, despite their advanced avionics, and despite their superior scanning and tracking systems, they were being blown out of space by these Colonials. It was a humiliation no one expected.

Spread across the Cyrannus star system, they didn't have enough resources for reinforcements to get to them in time. It was going to be up to the gunboats to pull this debacle of the fire. As far as he knew, this was the first decisive defeat of Earth force against these primitives. His squadron would be the butt of jokes for years two come.

The threat indicator began screaming pulling him out of his musings.

"We've been re-acquired!" Jennifer yelled. "We're being painted!" Her voice betrayed the panic that she felt. Two vipers were vectoring towards them, their weapons hot. The _Thunderbolt's_ ECM was fluctuating and all but ineffective at this point and at this range. They were also the target of a tight beam radar fix coming from several other vessels much further away from fighting. "They must be augmented with their version of AWACS with those vessels far from the combat zone.!"

Kinto didn't care how they were being painted, only that they were. Instantly, Kinto began putting his fighter through a series of frantic evasive maneuvers. Less than a second later, he felt the ship being hit by sledgehammers as the Colonial cannon shells ripped through his star fury and his body. He opened his mouth to scream just before he and Jennifer died in fire.

* * *

Lieutenant Louanne 'Kat' Katraine took a second to make sure her target was dead before heading, along with her wingman to help Starbuck out of the jam she'd gotten herself in. Apparently, she was making too much of a nuance of herself and had no less than three of those oversized Earther fighters trying to kill her. The now exploding Earther wreck, the explosions occurring due to the remaining ordinance cooking off, was one enemy fighter less to deal with. That pilot had the nerve to try to kill her in one pass and then ignore her?

Yeah, right. Why he or she didn't expect her to come back and re-engage was beyond her. Too bad for him. The fighter with the dragon face just went extinct just like the rest would.

"So say we all," she muttered to herself. Her tri-cannons were blazing before she knew it, catching her new opponents trying to take Starbuck out unawares.

This was a pilot's life–to live in glory and die in fire. She knew that her wing mate, 'Jolly' was thinking the exact same thing.

Breaking up the attack on Starbuck, she and Jolly turned to engage the missiles fired by the two incoming gunships.

" _Galactica Actual. All squadrons, break off attack. Proceed to emergency landing stages immediately._

Kat, Jolly and the surviving viper pilots immediately broke off and vectored towards their carriers. The fact that they had broken off their attacks meant only one thing. On her DRADIS screen she saw Starbuck and her wingmen breaking off their attack catching the enemy by surprise for a second. She knew it wouldn't last so she and the others would retreat as quickly as they could.

"Next time," she promised.

 _ **CDF Galactica**_

"All port batteries open fire," Adama ordered. A constant stream of anti-flak cannon fire poured from one of three dozen antimissile cannons started along the port side of the damaged battlestar. The eight cruisers and nine destroyers that made up the small fleet trying to defend themselves against the Earthforce aggressors quickly followed suit. The _Olympus_ gunboatsin wedge formation had fired a total thirty-three nuclear tipped missiles at the Colonial fleet. Those missiles slammed into a wall of uranium depleted shells and were effectively blocked from causing any damage. The second wave of missiles that followed three seconds behind the first were more successful. Two of them crashed into two destroyers, crippling one and obliterating the other.

Not to be outdone, the battlestar, cruisers, destroyers, and the two strike stars initiated an alpha strike. Close to one hundred five-kiloton nuclear missiles arced towards the _Olympus_ gunboats. In response, the gunboats use their own antimissile batteries to destroy the incoming missiles with only partial success. The darkness of space turned white and sixteen missiles that hadn't been intercepted hit their targets. Five or those missiles scored a direct hit on one of gunboats knocking it out of formation. Shields gone, its haul blacked from the blasts, its thrusters corrected the uncontrolled trajectory moments before the ship visibly shuddered. Internal explosions rocked the vessel and one of the engine exploded. The shield engine overloaded and that caused a cascade effect spreading to the fuel storage cells.

"Missiles hit the target. One kill!" Dualla announced quickly. "Whatever those electronic shields or blisters are, they were able to block our missiles.

"We got one."

"By sheer luck," Tigh grumbled.

"Prepare for another alpha strike," ordered Adama. The approximation attack did much better than he had dared hope for, but the hope died as it did earlier. The smaller Earthforce ships were protected by the same type of energy field that the larger ones had. He was hoping that there were two small to be able to handle such energy requirements, but he was obviously wrong. Between energy blisters and their stealth system, was almost impossible to even directly hit one of the larger vessels in the same thing was happening here. "Recall all of our fighters," he ordered. "We're going to have to retreat."

"Sir," Tigh muttered. "We might be a to get through those shields with the second strike." He loathed the idea of retreating, but he also knew that it was almost impossible to fight an enemy that couldn't hurt you but couldn't hurt in return. "How long before all of our fighters are back?"

"Five minutes."

"I want every portside weapon we have firing at those ships. We have got to keep them off our backs for five minutes."

"They should be in firing range within seconds. DRADIS signal is degrading. We can't get any kind of accurate lock now on the gunboats, only approximations."

It was happening. Whatever stealth system these Earthers were using, it effectively skewed DRADIS accuracy by as much as three percent, making accurate targeting almost impossible. There is no possibility of winning the fight under conditions like this. The _Galactica_ was equipped with the older and war battered DRADIS which was unable to correct for the skewing. To continue fighting under these conditions was suicide. "As soon as the last fighters are onboard, I want us to jump."

"Enemy gunboats are firing!"

* * *

The eleven Earthforce _Olympus c_ orvettes supported by an advanced model, jump capable _Monsoon_ gunship engaged the much larger, but more fragile Colonial heavies. Having weapons capability with longer-range capabilities, Earthforce warships hit back hard. Twin particle beams raked three of the closest CDF destroyers. The destroyers were firing the main weapons against the gunboats to little effect. Most the shells never even came close to their intended targets and the few that did simply bounced off the energy blisters of the gunboats.

Earthforce particle beams had no trouble burning through the heavy layers of flak and hitting their Colonial targets. Kobollian armor didn't stand have a chance of blocking incoming fire as the particle pulses melted through the relatively thin armor, burning through vital systems and crew members alike. They also found ordinance and vital fuel depots and in a matter of seconds, all three ships were floating, expanding debris fields, a silent testimony to the power displayed by the Earthforce weaponry. Moments later, two Colonial cruisers were hit.

One of the cruisers was cut in half by an energy beam fired from the larger, more heavily armored _Monsoon_ gunship _._ The rear section, its main engines still active, crashed into the front half which promptly crumbled into an unrecognized mess. A massive amount of debris and body parts spread everywhere just as the cruiser exploded. Not one of the crew of any of the destroyed vessels had a chance to escape.

The three strikestar missile carriers again unleased their nuclear arsenal at the Earthers. As before, the Colonials couldn't lock onto their targets directly, but because of one lone raptor that performed a short-range jump next to one of the _Olympus_ ships, they were able to target the raptor's position when they fired. The two pilots that perform this suicide mission were intending to jump out immediately having stayed a few seconds in order for their fellow Colonials to have the time to lock onto their position but they both knew it was impossible. Instead, they sacrificed their lives seconds later as enemy plasma fire burned through their small ship. Their mission however was fulfilled. Sixty anti-capital missiles hit Earthforce ships in an Alpha strike. The remaining Colonial cruisers added their missiles as did the surviving destroyers. As with the last time, the huge numbers of nuclear missiles detonated crippling two of their targets but doing little to damage the incoming. But explosions did appear to have blocked their sensors for a few precious seconds.

Those seconds weren't enough to stop a torrent of plasma pulse and beam weapons eviscerated another four destroyers and two more cruisers.

"The last vipers are in," Tigh yelled. Alarms were blaring, the latest one indicating an imminent attack. "We're being targeted by at least three of those boats. Our flak won't stop them."

* * *

"Our forces are jumping," Dualla informed the commander. "Raptors are jumping. Incoming forces are targeting us."

"Start the clock," Adama ordered. Being the most damaged, the _Galactica_ was furthest away from the fighting, not that that would do any good in the next few seconds. "All batteries continue firing."

"Clock is running. Five seconds…four...three…"

"Energy spike!"

The _Galactica_ vanished in a flash, bare moments before long-range energy beams could rip her to pieces. Adama, indeed the entire crew let loose breaths they weren't fully aware they were holding when the wounded ship appeared back in normal space

"Sir, were holding station seven kilometers from the Pythia shipyard. _Unidynal_ is reporting that five ships made it."

"Gods, we actually made it," Tigh whispered. "She held together," he said to a relieved nut still grim Adama.

"Yes, contact Pythia. Let them know we have casualties. I want to see the latest updates from Picon HQ and find out what's…"

He stopped as the _Galactica_ rumbled. Then power was lost which prompted the emergency lighting to automatically activate.

"That's it. Husker," Tigh whispered to him. The ship groaned and then, rumbled again. "Her back's broken. She's done for."

The Commander nodded his somber agreement at that assessment as he prepared to give orders to evacuate the ship. "But she got us here, didn't she?"

TBC


	13. RPIS Book II Chapter VII

_**Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **Chapter VII**_

 _ **"Earth War-Part 3"**_

 _ **Cyrannus System**_

 _ **Warstar Zeus**_

"Hurry," Admiral Nagala hissed at the command crew. "Move it." They didn't have much time.

A half hour earlier, the _Zeus_ 's engines have been all but destroyed. Her thrusters were off-line, and her weapon systems were effectively torn apart by enemy fire. The crippled and destroyed remains of six other battlestars, a half-dozen cruisers, and sixteen destroyers–an entire squadron floated listlessly in the void creating what was in effect a three-dimensional graveyard. As far as the admiral could tell, the Earther ships hadn't bothered capturing any escape pods prisoners. Nagala had immediately understood that this slaughter was being used as an example for his people. They were trying to break the Colonial spirit and this butchery was a prime example what they planned to do to the rest of the worlds and its people. Every single ship that went against their fleet was destroyed, except for _Zeus_ , and it had taken him a scant few seconds to understand the obvious reason why.

One of the few systems still functional was the short ranged DRADIS system and what it showed filled him with dread, not got himself but for his crew. Four kilometers away from his ship were two Earther battleships. Each of them was not quite two thousand meters in length. Those two command ships were bristling with guns and missile ports. Each of them had two very heavy beam cannon weapons that faced and were now pointed directly at the warstar. It was the actions of these two ships that laid waste to the entire squadron and he belatedly realized that they could won this battle this all on their own without any help from the smaller destroyers/capitals that escorted those monsters. In his mind, he labeled these ships as nothing less than battlestar killers. Even from the short contact that he had fighting the Earthers, he realized that his people had nothing that could equal these warships the Earthers were fielding. Not only did they have thick armor, but they were also covered with some type of highly refractive crystalline surface material that reflected and deflected most of the other heavy Colonial weapons. Not only that, they possessed real energy blisters that shrugged off cannon fire and nuclear missiles. The worst thing was their ECM system which allowed them to hit Colonial targets and at the same time. skewed incoming fire by as much as three degrees. Against such firepower, his people would have a very, very hard time defending themselves against this new, hideous enemy.

The Earthers had chosen not to destroy the _Zeus_. Instead, a number of odd-shaped vessels were approaching the warstar. It was clear that they intended to board her. He had ordered all every crewmember to take up arms and repel boarders, but he knew it was only a delaying tactic. More than half of the warstar was a crippled mess. Two thirds of the crew were either dead or injured and they were in no shape to repel highly trained infiltrators that were invading his ship. Surviving Colonial Marines gave them a good fight, using the anti-Cylon weapons sufficient to breach Cylon armor, but they weren't enough of them to defend the ship. The Earther soldiers on the other hand, were professionals, trained in ship boarding tactics. They attack using some type of beam weapon that he couldn't identify. Those weapons burned through metal as well as people. And the grenades being used by both sides added to the number of casualties. Whatever weapons these Earthers were using the rifle had a very high cycling rate and were devastating, destroying or killing any target those bursts hit.

In the end, every single Colonial Marine, whether they surrendered or whether they were wounded, were immediately killed. The few Marines that survived were executed. It took the enemy a half an hour to fight their way to the bridge. Now, the cameras showed them setting explosive charges as they prepared to get through the blast doors. Nagala knew that there was nothing he could do to stop them from overrunning his command, so he spent the time ordering the command crew to sabotage as much as they could, destroy sensitive records and anything else that might be used by the enemy. In a perfect world, he would have scuttled the ship and ordered his crew to evacuate using the life parts, but he knew that the members of his crew in those pods will be captured and most likely tortured by this ruthless enemy. It was difficult for him to imagine that his fellow Colonials could be so vicious.

One of his lieutenants started yelling, the panic clear in his voice. "They're coming through, sir!"

"The second they come through the door," Nagala growled, "start firing. Don't sell your lives cheap. Kill as many of enemy as you can. Greystone, keep destroying the data as long as you can."

The officer nodded, continuing to destroy as much as she and her group could in the waning minutes.

When the time came, every single crewmember expected an explosion, the reinforced steel door flying inwards, splinters cascading throughout the room causing yet more damage. But what did occur was totally unexpected. A huge circular pattern burned itself into the metal door. Then, the entire door melted almost immediately afterwards. The command crew started firing immediately even as several shock grenades were thrown into the room. They exploded. Extreme light and sound, stunned everybody inside the command center. The command crew were thrown to the floor, their senses overloaded as Earther commandos flooded into the room. Quickly, everyone was roughly manhandled, being pulled to their feet and their hands secured with some type of plastic like material. Nagala was pulled to the side separated from the rest of the crew. He was forced to the floor with several guns pointed at him. Still in shock, he didn't know how long he waited there. Slowly. as his hearing and eyesight returned he saw his crew, still somewhat dazed, been separated by sex. The Earthers had secure them as well. None of them spoke to the crew.

He thought that they remained that way for about ten minutes before he heard more people coming into the C&C. An additional two marines entered, followed by three more individuals. Two of them were obviously in uniform although they were dressed differently from the Earther marines. The last person a man in his early sixties was in civilian dress but clearly, by the way the Earthers deferred to him, he was the one in charge. Walking towards Nagala, the Admiral found himself being forced to stand.

"Can you understand me?" the man asked, speaking accented Caprican.

The surprise at the ability to speak Colonial standard overcame his hostility. "Yes," Nagala answered.

"Good. It's good to know that I didn't waste my time all these months learning your language," the man responded. He shrugged. "Learning languages. It's a gift, comes in quite handy." The man took a few moments to look around the command complex before he continued. "Normally, we use a translator to communicate with foreign entities. However, in this case since yours is a variation of a common Earth language it wasn't as hard as I imagined it would be. Being the Minister of Justice, it is my responsibility to ensure that clear communication is available to all prisoners and enemies of Earth Alliance. I will admit that some of your syntax is unusual, but it wasn't too difficult for me to master."

Nagala glared at him. "What is the meaning of this?" he asked as it was the obvious question. The man in front of him seemed eager to talk and he would oblige to find out what was going on. Why have you declared war on the Twelve Colonies of Kobol?"

"The Twelve Colonies of Kobol?" the Earther repeated. "Such an interesting name." He brushed it aside. "It doesn't matter what you call yourselves. That's not why we are here." He paused for a second. "Forgive me," he smirked. "My name is Thomas Lindsay, a Senator of Earth Alliance, and the duly appointed Minister of Justice. As the Minister of Justice, it is my responsibility to adhere to the rules and regulations of Earth Alliance to ensure its safety and security. The Colonies of Kobol, as you call yourselves, have been deemed a threat to the security of Earth and its colonies. We are here to neutralize the threat. And," he added, "we are here to secure certain items in your possession to ensure the safety of Earth."

"What are you talking about?" asked a very perplexed and suspicious Nagala. "We've done nothing to Earth that could consider us to be a threat. You are the Thirteenth Tribe, part of the colonies of mankind. We sent peace offerings to you," he spat. "And this is how you repay us?"

"Is that what you call them, the Thirteenth Tribe," Lindsay snarled. It was silent for a moment as he took in this additional information. "I guess that is appropriate to call them a 'tribe' and thirteen is an unlucky number. That would make sense since they are traitors to mankind."

"You're right. You should call yourselves traitors," he spat. "I demand that you cease hostilities immediately."

Thomas looked at him as if he were a child. "I knew you would say that. I come from the true Earth. My world is the true Earth. You've never met us! You've never met the true Earth! The people that you met are called the Tau'ri. That's what they call themselves. They have no right to call their world Earth or Terra. It is a lie and they are traitors all! Your 'Thirteenth Tribe' betrayed us when we needed them the most. They chose not to help us but instead they ran away and allowed alien filth to finish their job of trying to exterminate us! Millions died because of the Tau'ri, millions that could have survived if those traitors had done what they were supposed to do." He stopped abruptly realizing that he was going on a tirade. "Those traitor's actions nearly caused our government to fall. Lives and careers were ruined because of them. A war that could have been easily won with far less casualties resulted in the death of billions. We won the war against our enemies, but long-term consequences have kept us in a state of perpetual war trying to keep our enemies from overwhelming us. All of this can be laid at the feet of the Tau'ri."

"We don't know anything about your war, and or what happened between you and the Thirteenth Tribe. But, judging what you've done here, I can understand why they had problems with you," he sneered. "You have violated every tenant of the Articles of Colonization and have declared war on people who have never even met you."

"True, I concede we've never officially met," the minister reluctantly admitted. "As with any civilization, I understand that you have your own rules of justice that require you to uphold them," the man answered. "But the laws of Earth Alliance supersede that of yours, the Tau'ri, or anyone who threatens us. Your articles are null and void."

Nagala granted in disbelief.

"Be reasonable," the man told him. "I have no wish to resort to unnecessary force. What I want to know is everything that you know about the Tau'ri. I want to know their world's exact location. I want to know about the forces that they can field. I want to know how many worlds they have," Lindsay stated. I want to know about their allies with the gaudy pyramid ships. I believe one of their leaders was called Teal'c." Lindsay pulled out a large color photograph of the Jaffa known as Teal'c. "We want to know how many ships those barbarians can field."  
Nagala closed his eyes and said nothing.

"If you don't tell me what I want to know I will have your command crew executed in front of you."

Nagala looked at him directly in his eyes and shook his head. "I have no information that I can give you."

"He doesn't know much about them," one man said. "I can clearly see it in his mind. He doesn't have information about the Tau'ri we require."

"Are you sure?" asked Lindsay as he glared at the confused Colonial. This latest information was a disappointment. Intel have believed that the Colonial hierarchy had the additional information that the alliance needed to accomplish their campaign. Their 'associates' were able to find only vague numbers and information about the Tau'ri, but everyone agreed that the planet could only field approximately fifty capital ships at maximum, with maybe an additional twenty to twenty-five from their so-called allies of possible alien origin. Any other allies may be another ten to fifteen percent to those numbers. That was a sizable number of ships to field for a single world still in the 21st century but the Earth Alliance would field five times as many. Unless they changed radically in the last twenty years from Earth Alliance predictions, there was no way they could resist what was coming. They may have grown in power, but so had Earth Alliance. They had shields too, just like the Tau'ri. Plus, they had Minbari technology improved fivefold over the last time the traitors were there. And, they had an edge, something that would cut down the Tau'ri forces long before Earthforce could deliver the coup de grace. "He doesn't know anything?"

"I am positive," Alfred Bester responded casually. "This information on the false Earth is limited to reports that he read. He had no direct contact with the Tau'ri."

"That's too bad," grumbled the Minister of Justice. "I had hopes; but, I guess he's useless to us, a waste of time. Well, you do have the ship. It will be useful." He turned to the admiral and smiled. Yes. Some of us can read minds. Are you surprised?"

In truth, the colonial was shocked at the implication. He couldn't quite wrap his head around the fact that someone could possibly read his mind? He glanced at the man named Bester and in return that man simply smiled and used his finger to touch his forehead and Nagala felt an uncomfortable tingling in his head.

"You are very easy read. The Psicop smirked at him. "You would be surprised at what real humans can do." Bester turned to Lindsay. "His information on the Tau'ri and General O'Neill is very limited years out of date. He does however have extensive information about Colonial defenses and their assets. He's a very valuable commodity. Wouldn't you agree, commander?" he finished as he looked at the third man of the group.

"He has some value to us." The man stared at the colonial impassively. "I'm sure that between your people, Mr. Bester, and mine, we can get the required information out of him. I'm sure he'll survived long enough for us to do so."

As a sanctioned member of the Council of Peace and the head of Bureau Thirteen, I leave it to you. Please remember the President's orders about not terminating your prisoner before you gotten everything necessary out of them."

Minister Lindsay," said Alfred Bester. "There are two members of the command crew that interests me. Both men have the same characteristics as a former guest of ours. I can sense the same kind of static coming from them but is not nearly as strong. It will be in PsiCorps' interest to interrogate them further to see if we can determine the mystery of the white static. If we can determine the reasons why, we can counter it. We can do this, it'd make our job much easier when we bring the Tau'ri to heel."

"I remember your failure to determine the origin of Lieutenant Silverstone's resistance to your telepathy. I understand and officially approve of the use of gathering specimens to continue your research."

"Thank you, sir," Bester responded respectively. Personally, he loathed the man, but Lindsay was in the lead in this mission, and he had no intentions of ruining this golden opportunity to gather enough specimens to determine why some humans of this universe were partially resistant in general to telepathy, while the Tau'ri were completely so. Those freaks were so resistant to telepaths that simply trying to read them caused telepaths to suffer severe nausea and become violently ill. The captured pilot, Lieutenant Silverstone, a pilot from the Tau'ri ship _Achilles_ showed unimagined resistance to all forms of telepathy. The researchers tried everything to determine the cause of this resistance. Even the final vivisection couldn't determine the reason why Silverstone was completely resistant. Yes, the man talked about the four capital ships that the Tau'ri possessed and how they were in a process of building two more. The drugs also forced him to speak of the surprisingly primitive Jaffa and some of the history. However, the telepaths were all but useless in their efforts to read him. Even drugged, no telepath was successful in reading his mind and all of them suffered from intense nausea after trying. Whatever the defense was, it was very effective and it frightened PsiCorps. So obsessed were the researchers, there virtually egg nor did valuable intelligence that could have been used against the Tau'ri. The information was obviously outdated now but is still could have held value researchers had only thought about it a little bit more. However, if PsiCorps had their way, the leadership council would kill every single human on the planet just to make sure that this resistance, as they were calling it, couldn't spread.

Detailed analysis of the prisoners' remains hinted at a series of genetic markers that might be reasons why he could not be read. One thing everyone agreed upon, the PsiCorps researchers require more specimens from this universe to counter this problem. "I want those two over there," he said, pointing to a man and woman huddled at the corner near the communications unit. The telepath's mind had touched him and felt the resistance. That was exactly what he was looking for. What was about to happen to them wouldn't be pleasant, but that wasn't his concern. They were mundanes and their lives really didn't carry much value in the overall scheme of things.

"What are you going to do with them?" demanded Nagala.

"Quite a bit. Their sacrifices will be noted," Lindsay answered blighty. "As for you, you should be concerned about yourself. You have a lot of information that we require."

"I'll tell you nothing."

"Oh, I disagree. Between PsiCorps and Bureau Thirteen's methods, I'm sure that you will tell us everything we want to know, and more."

Lindsey watched as to Marines grabbed the Admiral led him away. The man may not have much information on the traitors, but he did know what the shipyards and their fuel depots were located, and the most importantly, where the leadership was hiding. Sighing he turned to the Commander. "I was hoping that he'd have more information about O'Neill and his people."

"We already know where they're located," the commander told him matter-of-factly.

"We do?"

"Our associates were able to find the Tau'ri star. We were able to confirm it. The interesting thing is that their star's spectral signature is identical to ours. That bit of information helped quite a bit. Took us a few years to figure out where they were, and that information was, of course need to know, which is why you didn't need to know until now. Our associates place hyperspace beacons from the rift all the way their star system. That saved us a lot of trouble. Fortunately, there so advanced and stealthy, the Tau'ri would never detect them. And more good news. We've confirmed that the Colonials have very little contact with them. This works to our advantage. We have found they won't know about it until it's too late." He shook his head. "I'm surprised that that our associates helped really us. What we did discover was that not all the directions they gave us were accurate. It would have delayed us possibly by weeks."

"These 'associates are ancient, millions of years old. They should not have made a mistake like that, So, the question is, is it that their directions were really faulty with their directions, or that they didn't really want us to find it?"

"That is question, isn't it?" The commander agreed. "Everything is gone according to plan so far, but we have to be diligent. When we capture the shipyards, I will immediately order our people to begin transporting our spoils back through the rift. Those jump engines the Colonials have; the alone will be invaluable. The shielded jump gate should get those ships through the rift with minimal damage all because of our shields we've modified from the Abbai." Stolen was a better word but neither man clarified the misnomer. "

"It took us forever to figure out how to transverse the rift without killing the ships and crew. I remember, it seemed almost impossible." His frustration was evident. The resources required to get through the rift, the number of lives lost… "I have to give IPX credit for finding a way through it."

"I have to agree. The Minister of Science did his job. The whole project was a resounding success. I will admit to being rather excited when this first part of the mission is done. What comes next…"

The Minister of Justice smiled at that thought. Bureau Thirteen hated O'Neill and his people as much as he did because of what he did to their organization. The man was responsible not only for almost ruining his career but the mass killing the bureau's most trusted and capable assets. It took years to build back up to where they were before O'Neill and the Achilles left everything in tatters. Those action were never forgotten, and his group promised retribution. "We go Tau'ri hunting."

"Yes, we will. Sometimes people have to be forced to remember that others have very long memories."

"Not to mention that we will take what we want from their broken world, whether they like it or not."

"What did the Minbari call it again, mythrale? I hate using that name. It is so – Minbari."

"Yes, mythrale's what they called it, but I like Tau'ri name better. Naquada. That's easier on the tongue. We know that the Quantium-40 mineral version is far more stable and frankly useful." He grimaced. "I still hate the fact it's almost impossible to find in quantities in our universe." Even as he spoke the words, he silently acknowledged the irony of his worlds. Minbari researchers were only aware of Q-40 derivative because of the precious few grams they had collected on some obscure, unnamed planet. The properties were so unique that when they were trying to determine why the _Achilles'_ nukes were so powerful the analysis of the explosions matched their own records. The Minbari didn't have the resources or the time to look for the mineral as by then, the plague was ravaging their people. Details of where they found it was lost to the war. Q-40 was hideously expensive not to mention being hideously radioactive and deadly to handle. Naquada could be handled by hand, was stable and was more energetic. It made a superior bomb and a power source. The mineral could not be used in jump engines as with Q-40, but it might well be the most valuable resource that Earth Alliance could have. ""With enough of that mineral, the only limit to our power will be our imagination."

"And we will crush the Tau'ri in the process," the minister answered. "But let's not count our chickens before they hatch."

"That's the first rule of spy craft," the head of Bureau Thirteen said. "Let's hope our associates do their job first."

The thought of President Clark's associates sent a shiver through his body. "Why is he trusting those things?"

"Those 'things' have done everything they said they would. They've kept their promises."

"And you trust those spiders?"

"Yes," he answered with conviction. "Right until they try to betray us. Then they understand that their age won't matter. But for now, we trust."

Both men looked at each other well aware of the stakes involved going into the next few days.

TBC


	14. RPIS Book II Chapter VIII

**_Record keeping time:_** _Not much to say right now. But to keep things clear. Yes, Earth Alliance is giving the Colonials fits at this moment. The Cylons are being attacked as wee by an unnamed enemy (can we spell Drazi?) and Earth Alliance who are more or less working together. Everyone is being played by the Shadows. Meanwhile, in another part of the galaxy another drama is being played fleets here know nothing about what is happening at home, at least not yet. And finally, the Race steps in…_

 _Part one, this chapter is the setup, Chapter IX will be the conflict as the newcomers tried to understand what';s happening without them being killed off by skittish members of the Race._

 _'Establishing the Balance' will continue after the next chapter here. The Race plays their part in both series._

 _Please enjoy. Thank you._

 ** _Roads paved in Shadow_**

 ** _Book II_**

 ** _Chapter VIII_**

 ** _The other side of the Mountain-Part 1_**

 ** _101 light years from Sol system_**

Three United Coalition ships, _Sseki_ class dropped out of hyperspace some one hundred thousand kilometers distant from an unidentified convoy that simply appeared from nowhere. The three ships, crewed by males of the Race immediately cloaked, becoming effectively invisible to the huge but less advanced ships. Unable to be detected, the UCW vessels began to cautiously stalk their targets. These vessels were a current unknown and the UCW was taking no chances in light of recent events.

In the last four months, the Coalition had responded to no less than five worlds attacked by unknowns. All of those worlds were part of the Protective Planets Treaty and in each case, there were no survivors. Whoever was responsible for the attacks destroyed the small, primitive settlements on each planet from orbit. Other than the fact that all were under the PPT, along with the destruction of the Tok'ra capital city and base, this brought the number of attacks to six. There was no discernable pattern other than the most obvious one.

The type of weapon used in each of the attacks varied between two main types. The first used a neutron-based energy as its basis. The beam itself was extremely toxic to life forms, killing everyone and everything within four hundred meters from the actual beam itself. The second weapon was some sort of plasma-based fusion weapon that literally melted and burned everything that it touched. Entire villages, towns, even entire small cities were wiped from the face of the planets. So far tens of thousands of people had died, and the Coalition had no idea as to who this enemy was although there was a strong suspicion that the Ashtorath were somehow involved. The enemy intentionally avoided any contact with any world that had technology advanced enough to have hyperspace communications that could reach the UCW. The attack was so sudden and calculated that many of the protected worlds that did have a stargates, the people were unable to use them before they were slaughtered.

The continued random attacks had put the entire Coalition on edge. Everyone from the Terrans, to the Tollanians, to the Race were on edge. It was assumed that eventually whomever this was that was attacking the planets covered by the treaty would eventually turn our eyes on the more advanced worlds when they were ready. The only clue that they had reports from Anise and the young survivors of the Tok'ra massacre.

Colonel Jon O'Neill spoke to Anise personally when she was transferred to the Alpha site three months earlier. What he and his team saw shocked them to the core. Whatever had happened to her had left her a shell of her former self. Although slowly recovering, she still looks like a withered old woman and they were all reminded of the similarities of having suffered from a Wraith feeding. It took some time as she explained what happened to her people. What she told the was initially met with skepticism at first even though the evidence was undeniable. The type of alien that she had described had never been seen before, but it gave nightmares to everyone who heard her story. These invisible, phase-shifting aliens were nothing less than killing machines and like the Wraith, they fed on Humans. The creatures that attacked Anise would have killed her if she hadn't used one of her own experiments on herself. The modified viral enhancing agent that she self-injected gave her the strength and the stamina to fight off a creature more than twice her size. But the price of victory was high. She wasn't sure but when the creature attacked and tried to feed on her, the viral agent which enhanced her enabled her to fight it off both physically and biologically. Apparently, and she thanked every real god that existed if they did, the viral agent was poisonous to the creature and combined with her symbiont's now enhanced regenerative ability, she was actually able overpower the creature at the same time she used her personal weapon to blow its head off. The creature had literally phased its mouth into her body. The viral agent must have forced its retreat. Causing it to phase out of her body enough for her to shoot it. she emptied her energy clip into its armored, teeth-ridden, excuse for a face.

Her young allies helped her fall through the stargate before the entire complex blew. When they made it through the gate, she promptly collapsed. She woke up and discovered that she had lost almost forty percent of her body weight and by all rights should have been a corpse. Her nervous system was disrupted, her respiratory system and circulatory system damaged as well.

The viral agent was effective. It saved her life.

However, side effects were worse than she anticipated. The drug had overloaded her system while at the same time fighting off the feeding creature. Her skin had wrinkled. Her hair had shriveled into a tangled mess with a lot of it falling out. Her eyes were shrunken and red. The medics that worked on her work were surprised that she had lived through those first few nights. A month later, she was still recovering and beginning to look more like her normal self but was going to be a long, slow process. The symbiote had been injured in the attack and being subjected to the enhancing agent and it would be months possibly years before it would recover completely, if ever. The experiment was a success, the recovery, not so much.

But despite her injuries, she counted herself lucky that she was one of the few of her people still alive. General Jack O'Neill, head of Homeworld Security, came to see her and even he was shocked by her condition.

He treated her with a bit of respect and gentleness to her surprise she acknowledged his existence without being contemptuous. The events had changed her more than she knew. The young children that she fought so hard to protect had never left her side and for that both Anise and Freya were grateful. The bind between her and her young charges had grown exponentially.

The only evidence everyone was convinced of was that this was no coincidence. It had all the signs of a coordinated attack building up. With upmost secrecy, the general informed the Asgard as to what was happening. The Asgard were still slowly and quietly rebuilding their civilization and now they were on guard. They were not happy, and their scientists and covert explorers were gathering evidence. Together, the UCW were going to uncover what was going on before it turned into a disaster of epic proportions.

 ** _UCW ship 26th Emperor Jorpna_**

One of the conditions that was demanded by the Race before joining the UCW was that they would be allowed to name their own space-going ships. This is a tradition that dated back almost twenty-thousand years and they were very adamant about it. It was a very small concession which the UCW could easily live when taken into consideration that most of the coalition vessels possessed Terran names and many of the non-Terrans weren't overly happy about it. After the failed conquest of Earth, the original fleet was relocated to the planet now called Home II. As was tradition and as was necessary those ships landed on the planet, were decommissioned, and taken apart to help build the colony. The new ships that they now used were commissioned by the current Emperor, again using the names of the honored, deceased emperors that rule Home in the past. The members of the race were very happy in part because they didn't have to butcher the Terran names that would have been used for the ships the males of the Race flew.

Eventually females would be allowed to integrate with the males on military and civilian ships as soon as the problem with mating season was finally put under control. Certain drugs were useful for this particular method, however the race being very cautious species, did not as of yet, implement any rules and regulations concerning such radical changes

Until their biological and social scientists finished studying the implications. Those feasibility studies would take a few years. The race was a very slow and methodical and had no intentions of rushing into this.

As for the ships, there were light years more advanced than anything the Race ever possessed and although many would not admit it, they were as static about it. There were too many nasty neighbors running around the galaxy for them to be otherwise. Earth might have once been considered a bad neighbor, but as bad neighbors went, they were so bad compared to many others.

"We are cloaked, three light seconds from the unknows, Superior sir. All Coalition ships accounted for."

"Acknowledged, Senior Navigator," Shiplord Straha responded. "Senior Scanner Jsilop, what does our probing tell us?"

"There are eighteen vessels of various configurations, three light seconds from our position. Their energy emissions are comparable to our old conquest ships although higher, superior sir. I detect nuclear weapons, most likely missiles already in their launchers. They have no shielding that I can detect. The warships are positioned in a way that protect what I believe are noncombatant ships. It is my opinion that this is a convoy of some type, possibly an exploratory expedition, not a war fleet. Our computers are identifying the ships as follows."

"Proceed."

"Scans indicate that the species flying the ships are Human. There's one large vessel identified as a warship, two smaller vessels similar in configuration, three cruiser analogs, and what I believe to be four destroyer escorts positioned away from the convoy possibly being used as a screen. I see three large transports, one large fuel tanker, possibly one military transport in effect, and freighter of unknown identification. The last two vessels appear to be large civilian carriers although heavily armed. Correction Sir, I now see small killercraft exiting from the three largest military vessels. I believe this is a CAP screen to increase the protection of the vessels. Some of these space capable killercraft are carrying nuclear ordinance as part of their missile package."

"Can you scan those missiles in order to determine their payloads and profiles?"

"Yes, superior sir."

"Determine if the nuclear profile is the same that was used in the destruction of the Tok'ra home world."

"Yes… Their nuclear profile does not match what we identified at the Tok'ra base."

"Very well. We can rule them out as the probable perpetrators," Straha announced.

"Superior sir, Shiplord Kirel indicates that he wishes to open communications with the unknown vessels that have entered UCW space."

Straha's eye turrets looked at the male. The male still considered UCW space as 'Coalition space', not 'our space'. Some males hadn't made the full transition yet, which was to be expected. Others had started speaking like Tosevite Terrans themselves as they seemed to embrace the Humans. It was still unnerving how easily that occurred among the military males. Even he had been inclined to do something similar. Atvar had laughed when he mention this to him.

"It is his right as Senior Shiplord of this patrol." Straha had expected nothing less since Kirel was one of the few males of the race that had greater authority than he. In the old, now defunct Conquest Fleet that was commissioned to conquer Tosev III, now known as Terra or Earth, Atvar, Kirel, and he were the three most senior ranking males. Those positions had not changed and as part of this expedition fleet, Kirel was the senior male officer.

"Inform the shiplord that I acknowledge his order."

The male in charge of communications paused for a second. Turning to his shiplord he continued. "He also orders that Senior Navigator Nignxe, because of his propensity for understanding Tosevites/Humans of most variations would perform his assigned duty as First Contact liaison for the glory of the Race and the UCW."

"It shall be done. Nignxe, you have been given responsibility for first contact with these unknown Humans. I expect nothing less than your best. With this first contact we do not to confuse the Humans and start a shooting match. I do not want the paperwork and neither does shiplord Kirel."

"Yes, Superior sir," Nignxe said with barely controlled enthusiasm.

Straha maintained his command face but inside he was smiling. The Senior Navigator was nothing less than a savant when it came to understanding and interacting with the Humans. The male connected to them in ways that few members of the Race ever had so far. Even Straha's relations with General and Colonel O'Neill didn't match the intimacy that Nignxe achieved by just being himself. His easy interaction made him a legend among his superiors. His 'gift' as some referred to it as, made his status grow in importance both politically and militarily. It also made him a target. Fleetlord Reffet of the Colonization Fleet simply hated him. Most of the Race's psychologists hated him, or rather were envious his ability to move, even live among the Humans without difficulty. He even had an apartment on Earth and was a popular figure in the city of Denver. Many of the senior historians, psychologists, and researchers who specialize in the study of Humanity either wanted him to go home to Home and never to be seen again or tried to force him to work under their authority. Ironically, Straha, Atvar and Kirel honored the male for those exact same reasons. Plus, it amused them to see the Colonization fleetlord hiss impotently at the male because of his status. Nignxe was a great navigator, but he was a greater asset when interacting with Humans. Emperor Runshan found a way to allow the male to do both to the satisfaction to everyone who did not hate him.

Another male, Tusan, continued pouring over computer records trying to identify the unknown targets. "Superior sir, I have tentatively identified the unknown targets. I have conferred with other specialists and our conclusion is that with ninety percent accuracy, these vessels are from the Cyrannus star system, nine thousand, sixty-eight, point two six seven light years from Tau Ceti II. Further information is available," he added.

"Open communications with Fleetlord Kirel and Shiplord Vushi."

"It shall be done, superior sir…communications are open. They can hear our transmissions."

"Fleetlord Kirel and Shiplord Vushi, our specialists have identified the vessels with a high degree of accuracy. We will pass this information to you that you may be aware of it."

" _We have already seen the information, but we should confer among ourselves so that we will be prepared,"_ Kirel said. _"When contacting hon-Terran Tosevites, like their relatives, nothing should be taken for granted."_ His lower jaw fell open in laughter. The emperors knew how chaotic Humans, or as he preferred to call them 'Tosevites,' were.

"Speak so that we may all be aware of what we are becoming involved in," ordered Straha.

"It shall be done. Ten Tosevite years ago, the Earth warship _Prometheus_ discovered the Cyrannus star system. This happened during the Vorlon-Asgard war. The _Prometheus's_ hyperdrive was damaged during the battle and they encountered the Humans called the Colonial Kobollians. First Contact did not go well. The information given them by the Senior doctor of Archelogy and Languages, Daniel Jackson. contradicted the Colonials' local superstitions. Hostilities erupted, and Kobollian Humans were killed when the _Prometheus_ was fired upon. The ship retreated, and the Humans of Terra have not had contacted with them since that time."

Kirel seemed confused. _"I do not understand their reasoning,"_ he began. _"If they were a threat, this Tosevite faction should have been contained."_

"Superior sirs, may I speak as to their possible reasoning?" asked Nignxe.

" _Speak of your theory, Senior Liaison,"_ Kirel stated, interested in what the male had to say.

"I believe that the Colonials of Kobol were unaware of the location of the Sol system. They were also unaware of the Terrans' rapidly increasing ability to defend itself and growing numbers of powerful allies. The Wraith invasion, the aftermath of the extra-dimensional Vorlon attack that destroyed entire worlds. The Lucian Alliance attacks, the destruction and integration of the Tollanian faction, the integration of advanced technologies, the constant attacks of the Goa'uld remnants, the growing Ashtorath Empire, the responsibility of safeguarding the worlds of the Protect planet treaty and other similar worlds, the beginning of the deep exploration of our galaxy and the Pegasus galaxy, the Genii conflict, and to our embarrassment, our attempted conquest of their world. All of these activities occupied the Terrans. I surmise because of their rashness," saying that as a curse, "they forgot about the Colonials being a potential threat. I also postulate that they did not consider them a real threat when compared to their challenges they had to focus on. The Kobollians were considered a lower priority."

" _Your theory has merit,"_ Kirel admitted and Straha agreed. _"There is also the fact that the Tosevites, while innovative, moved too fast as is their propensity,"_ he added. _"The Terran Humans move too fast for their own good,"_ he repeated for good measure. _"Unlike the Race, they do not fully analyze and consider the long-term consequences of their actions. In less than a hundred and fifty of their years, they have developed their air craft from using hot-air balloons to intergalactic space travel in the veritable blink of an eye-turret."_

"They _are_ rash," Straha said ruefully. "Yet somehow it works." He thumped his tail in amusement and exasperations. It was a conversation that the Race had on a constant basis ever since they'd met the Terrans. "The Terran Tosevites rushes into the unknow more than the other of their kind found throughout the galaxy–so far. I believe that it is their legacy and their curse. They have spread too far and too fast, but it works for them. The Race moves in slow measured steps, perhaps too slowly. We were in danger of being overwhelmed. Our technology is stagnant compared to theirs. They move too fast. We moved too slowly," he said. "Our Emperors," and here all of them momentarily lowered their eye turrets in respect, "are aware of our measured movements and has seen the extinction of our species. That is why both the Emperor and the young Emperor have decreed that we joined the UCW. Together, we can slow the Terrans down a little and they can speed our development. This is an argument that the Race will have for thousands of years."

" _It is a frightening reality,"_ said Kirel. " _But the Race has many advantages we had hot imagined less than ten standard years ago. It took the Race twenty years to travel from Home to Sol in cryo sleep. We can now travel the same distance in less than a standard hour. Some believe that we advance too quickly. Fleetlord Atvar's concern is also mine. But this is our road we travel now. Out of necessity, the Terrans have spread too far and too fast. I do not say this in anger or fear, but I do believe that we can establish a balance so that all of us, the members of the Race and the entire UCW may survive together."_

Shiplord Vushi added to the conversation. _"I fear the future as well. I am also pleased that we have the capability to fight back and have allies. The galaxy is smaller than we believed. We have enemies, but we have found new worlds for the Race and the Empire to easily colonize. The Rabotev and Hallessi will be independent soon. They may stay with the Empire or they may choose independence. Things are changing. We must change with it. But with rapid change, critical things can easily be overlooked or forgotten. These Colonials were forgotten. But we cannot assume that they are a threat. We must also not forget that there is another threat destroying civilizations under our protection. If the aliens on this convoy are innocents, then we must protect them before they may experience disaster. We must also determine why they are in our space."_

"Perhaps they have some knowledge of who attacks the worlds under our protection," speculated the ever optimistic Nignxe. "We are members of the UCW. Let us proceed and contact these aliens and see if peace erupts."

"It shall be done, young shiplord," laughed Straha. He was amused as the young male's scales become more prominent, a sign of embarrassment. But it was also frightening to see how his own personality was changing. Never had he expected that his mindset would have changed so drastically, so quickly. "contamination of the Race by Humanity is complete," he muttered.

"I apologize, Superior, sir," said Nignxe. "I did not hear you."

"It is nothing. Ignore it."

" _My ship will initiate contact. Shiplords Straha and Vushi, you will remain in their sensor range but will not move closer to the unknowns. Their power signature is not as strong as ours. I do not wish to frighten them. We will initiate contact in fifteen standard minutes."_

Both Shiplords said in unison, "it shall be done."

 ** _Battlestar Junis_**

 ** _Minoan class-Columbia variant_**

"Jump completed, sir. No problems."

"Good work people. l want the Alert four out and setting a perimeter." Commander Demetrius Eddlison sighed in quiet relief. _No problems. Thank the gods._ The convoy was more than a year out and none of the ships had failed–yet. However, wear and tear were showing and if they didn't find Earth soon, they would have to sop and do a major overhaul of the entire fleet. It didn't help that the fleet had jumped too close to a collapsed star and was almost torn apart by the gravitational stress. Several ships suffered damage as the gravitational waves tried to pull them in. they barely escaped intact. Demetrius had never been more frightened for his ship and crew in his life. The convoy made it out alive, but that experience changed the entire tone of the mission. The Thirteen Colony.

 _To meet them in a spirt of peace. How exciting to be part of that mission!_

How boring and how dangerous with _dangerous_ being the operating word. Nine thousand five hundred light years from the home system. No backup, several garden worlds observed destroyed. Those worlds were lifeless and there was obvious evidence of orbital attack. The discovery of those worlds demoralized many of the civilians and much of the military. Naturally, this precipitated endless speculation about what had happened, and all of the speculation was sobering. Those planets were devastated tens of thousands of years ago, but that didn't lessen the impact. The biggest question was: did Earth have something to do with the war or was it the result of some long forgotten, distant war no one even remembered?

"Sir, DRADIS screens are clean," DRADIS officer Rand O'Dellis announced. "No unidentified contacts. As usual," he quietly added low enough so that no one could hear.

"Put the Admiral on the horn," the Commander ordered. He picked up the phone and moved to the command chair. Moments later, the connection was made. " _Junis_ Actual to _Radiance_ Actual, we're ready for picket assignment."

 _Junis Actual, belay that,"_ Admiral Frankius C. Cunningham said. _"I'm giving the Junis a break. The destroyers will run picket this time."_

"Thank you, sir." He was grateful because frankly his crew needed some R&R. They were in the middle of open space, two light-years from the targeted star system.

" _We're going to be here for a while,"_ the large dark-skinned man stated. _We must confirm and recalibrate for our next series of jumps. There are four stars in this sector that fall within the Terran spectral range. One of them has to be the Thirteener's star system."_

"Hope so, sir."

" _We're close. I can feel it. but all of us need a break. Two of the transports require their jump engines aligned. Our fuel needs to be topped off and the Ganmi needs their navigation computers completely replaced. Luxine Corp. crap,"_ he muttered. _"So, we'll be here for the next forty-eight hours. That will give our destroyers time to investigate."_

"Sir, which system will we try first?"

" _Spectral is working on that now. We have discovered some very weak, old-style radio signals bouncing off our antennae but as you know, we don't have a lock on them yet and they may not even be from Earth. Might even be background noise," he shrugged. "Our science heads are working on it."_

"Are we getting any definitive subspace signals?" the commander asked, somewhat frustrated.

" _The correct answer is 'they're not sure',"_ said the frustrated admiral. The highly experimental transceiver was the latest Colonial long-ranged communications. The new science slowly developed with the discovery and confirmation of the existence of subspace. From the basic understanding that the Colonials had, they developed the first-generation subspace transceiver. Transmissions was short ranged, less than three light-year and it was hit and miss, but still a quantum leap over STL transmissions. The problem that the scientists were having was with the receiving of artificially created transmissions. There was so much background noise crossing with the signals that it made detection difficult if not almost impossible to detect if the signal wasn't coming from a Colonial based communications system. No one knew if Earth even had subspace comms capability.

The leading theory was that one world would not have the resources to create such an advanced kind of system although there were some serious disagreements among the theoreticians. Earth apparently had developed a kind of FTL system that differed vastly from Colonial science. Their weapons system, although similar to their Colonial counterparts in several ways. was apparently more advanced at that time. But it was the shielding that stunned the Colonials and the obvious energy generation needed to power those shields made the Colonial Powers-That-Be salivate. They wanted to contact Earth peacefully and establish friendship and trade–even if they were suspected monotheists. Besides they would very likely appreciate the support of their distant brothers and sisters, especially if what they said about a war was true.

The Colonials needed intel on the Earther war and what other colonies they were at war with, and why. Those questions remained unanswered because the rule of the _Prometheus_ never said why they were fighting. In the eyes of the military, that was a definite need to know. It implied that there were more Human societies out there than previously thought. Scientists, politicians, and religious groups were more than a little interested in finding out what the Earthers knew. However, first they had to find out exactly where they were first. The Admiralty had ordered Cunningham to find out more about the war. It was also theorized that Earth had to have had standard radio for at least three hundred years, therefore the Colonials focused their search detecting radio signals backtrack them into a source. If the signals were traveling at the speed of light, then sensitive equipment could pick up those faint signals backtrack them to Earth and pinpoint its location.

The theory was sound but in actual practice, it was another story altogether.

"There are four stars in this immediate sector that correspond to what we believe Earth's star to be. The destroyers _Sentrius_ and _Promin_ will check out those systems and report back. With luck, we may be able to narrow it down within the next six months, or less."

"And pray they're not hostile," Eddlison muttered under his breath, but still it was loud enough for the admiral to hear.

" _I don't believe they will be,"_ Cunningham said. Eddlison thought him an optimist. Being an optimist wasn't bad but with so many unknowns, he, like many of the other commanders were justifiably cautions. _"If I didn't, then I wouldn't have volunteered to command this mission. If we find them, I think we can do some good here. We're coming to them in peace and we have a big stick so that will account for something."_

"Not as big as I'd like. We only have a few battlestars, no port of call for refuge, and a huge number of civilians, half of them which are politicians and the other half religious leaders, we're responsible for."

" _Commander, we've been through this before,"_ the admiral said, not unkindly, but the exasperation was evident in his voice. All of the commanders had this discussion numerous times. It was one of their main concerns throughout this mission. _"The battlestars they encountered before are like toys compared to the firepower we have now. But I hope we won't have to intimidate anyone. That is the last thing I want to do. I have no intentions of starting a fight just because some of them may be monotheists. That is stupid, and I will not condone such ignorance."_

"They still may not want us there," Eddlison responded. It was an old but still relevant argument. One of the greatest arguments resulted from the belief that the Thirteeners as they were nicknamed, might hold a grudge because of the First Contact debacle. If they did, then the expedition would leave. But they would have confirmed Earth's locations and others would eventually come and try to make peaceful contact. Earth couldn't hide forever. The Pandorrae box was already opened and there was no closing it.

" _We all are hoping that they are mature enough to see that we're not threatening them. But they have to realize that there is another problem that they will have to deal with sooner or later."_

"The Cylons," the Commander answered.

" _Exactly so,"_ Cunningham said. _"The Cylons are looking for them and when they do…I'm sure that Earth will put up a good fight, but they have no idea what they'll be up against. The admiralty believes that Earth doesn't have a clue what a real war is like, and I agree. Even if Earth has allies, they won't have a chance. If nothing else, we need to warn them. The sooner they'll know the truth about what waits for them out here in the dark, the better."_

"You don't believe that they were in some kind of interstellar fight?" That was the first time that Eddlison worded it so bluntly. To be truthful, the Brass hadn't believed that the Earth ship was involved in some type of 'alien' conflict. Most assumed that the Earthers were referring to some type of civil war and that they were exaggerating to puff themselves up to their cousins. "Their explanation was farfetched, and I'm surprised that they expected us to believe it."

" _We saw the evidence of combat on their ship. There is little doubt they were in a fight. But the Cylons are another level that they have never faced. I don't want them wiped out because they underestimated them."_

"Sir, we haven't seen a hint of the Cylons since we started this mission. But I know they are tracking us somehow just outside of our DRADIS and patrols. I can feel it, we're leading them right to Earth."

" _So can I. And we'll do everything we can to stop them if worst comes to worst. Between Earth's fleet, our own, and whatever allies they have, we should be able to keep the planet safe. And in the end, it doesn't matter. The Cylons have been looking for them the day they came to our system. They_ are _looking, and they will find Earth sooner or later. The Cylons are our enemies and we became responsible to inform and protect our brethren who may not be able to protect themselves."_

"Yes, sir. I agree."

" _If a Cylon fleet is tracking us then logically, it can't be that large. We have too many ships on their border for them to risk sending a large-scale assault from so far away. We would detect such movement and counter it. Earth can likely handle themselves with us supporting them."_

Sir, as I've said before, we're making a lot of assumptions. That concerns me."

" _It bothers me as well. We don't have any ideas about who these people really are. Brass Intel and Analytical branches have done their best. But it's all we have. I think the risk is worth it, otherwise I wouldn't be leading this mission. The cabinet thinks so, too. And, those are our orders."_

"I just hope that what we're doing won't lead to the Thirteeners' destruction." It was a worry that pervaded not only the officers but the entire fleet.

" _I have faith in the gods and in our superior firepower. It won't come to that. Rest time, forty-eight hours. Use your time well."_

"Thank you, Admiral." With a click, he closed the private channel.

His First Officer, Colonel Joan Perris moved over and sat next to him. "Same old argument?"

"You're correct," her commander sighed. "I remember the arguments back home. Most of the politicians wanted to send an armada to protect Earth if and when we found it. Can you imagine the reception we'd get if we had sent an armada to Earth while saying, 'we're here to protect you'? I can only imagine the fight that would ensue, despite our intentions. We would be violating Earth's territorial space."

"Commander, some would argue that their space _is_ Colonial space, at least from a legal standpoint," she stated. "Plus, they may be more than we are assuming."

"It is a valid concern, but again argument is the same. They only have one world and therefore limited resources. We estimate that they have maybe thirty capital ships and yes, I know. They may be more powerful than ours if history is a judge. But it's a singe world that may or may not have allies. That is yet to be determined as we only had their word for it, just like we have to take their word for it that they were in a war and not some skirmish. There was no solid evidence either way. What we do know is that their small gunboat-sized vessel took out several battlestars before they escaped."

"In self-defense," Perris said. "People tend to forget that little fact."

"Granted. But the other side of this is that if we come–in peace, as we are doing with a small group of ships such as our convoy here, what could we actually do if Earth suffers a dedicated attack from the Cylons? What if Earth has fewer ships? What if they force us to leave and then the Cylons come? Either way, whether a large fleet of small, we're gambling with the lives of the people of Earth."

"And what choice did we have?" Perris pointed out.

"And that's the point. We didn't have one, not the way we see it."

"Why are the simple missions so complicated?" she asked. It took her a lot to keep her from laughing at the irony of it all.

The truth was, they'd have no idea what the situation was until they discovered Earth. This was getting old, so it was best to change the subject. "You know, this mission does satisfy one of my true ambitions," he said. "I've always wanted to go into deep space and explore where we haven't explored before. Who knows? Maybe I would have found some artifact millions of years old left by some ancient race long extinct."

"Fantasy, cousin," she whispered into his ear. "Fantasy. There's no intelligent life other than us out here. Nothing, not in four thousand years of travel in space."

Eddlison looked at his cousin with that intensity that he reserved only for the most important of discussions. "All of these stars, it's got to be something out here. I compare our knowledge to looking at a tree and believing we understand the thousand-mile forest. We don't know what's out here, and I don't care what the scrolls say or how they are interpreted. We are somewhat ignorant, if you really think about it. I know the ancient scrolls tell of our history, but there are a lot of things, a lot of facts that have been omitted, or weren't known at the time. It's entirely possible that Earth is the First Tribe, not the youngest nor the Thirteenth tribe. They may be the Fourteenth Tribe. They may be the Fifteenth Tribe. Remember all of those left behind? Kobol may have been our home world where we were born, or maybe not. There may have been tribes of Humans who left Kobol long before we even understood the concepts of space travel. The point is, four thousand years and we have no idea what's out here. There may be some very advanced civilizations just waiting for us to find them."

"Advanced Humans; is that which is saying?"

"We don't know the totality of our history," Eddlison flatly stated. "We don't know was out here."

"So, you believe in the possibility that some version of man is out here and is far more advanced than we can imagine." She smiled at him. "It's that dream again. You haven't talked about it for years."

"What dream," he asked with as much innocence as he could muster.

"The dream you haven't mentioned for years but you never forgot," she informed him.

The Commander looked offended and didn't even try to deny. "In my defense, I barely remember it. I do however remember seeing an artifact in space, some kind of space catapult. We were arguing about what to name it and then aliens tried to kill us."

For a moment she glared at him, deep in thought. Then she burst out laughing. "You had that dream because you were drinking too much," she teased. "I saw what you looked like at my wedding. I didn't know you could drink that much. I'm still surprised that you remembered what planet you were on."

"Drunk or not, I still remember that dream, or at least fragments of it. It was so real. I still remember the name we called the device, Stella transport device that, an ST D. Maybe ask Earth if they've ever heard of such a thing."

"Please, don't do that. We'll have a war for sure." Knowing him, she thought he would do something like that for sure just to embarrass her. "Sir, I recommend some rest and relaxation," she ordered. "Get so me sleep and let your mind rest. No dreaming." He couldn't miss the twinkle in her eyes.

He snapped a mock salute. "Yes, ma'am."

"Don't worry, I have command until you wake…sir."

Well then. XO, you have the conn. I stand relieved."

"Commander, I have the conn."

 ** _TBC_**

 ** _Next:_** _the Race encounters the Colonials. Panic abounds. The Cylons meet the Race…more panic abounds. Darkness is here._


	15. Chapter IX book II

_**Roads Paved in Shadow**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **Chapter IX**_

 _ **The other side of the Mountain-part 2**_

 _ **CDF Radiance**_

 _ **Mercury III Class Battlestar**_

"All ships secured," Lieutenant Ria announced. "Stealth raptors launched and proceeding to previous jump points. We are picking up some very weak radio emissions; they _are_ artificial in origin. We haven't yet pinpointed the direction," he finished excitedly.

The Admiral relaxed and actually smiled. "Confirmed transmissions, but no direction? They're not background."

"Confirmed. The signals are very primitive," responded lieutenant Adros. "The background is playing havoc with them. I can't tell how far they've traveled. But I can calculate the rate of degradation." A few moments later, Andros spoke. "I estimate about one hundred years, give or take ten." He smiled. I think we're close, sir."

"Excellent. Status on the _Jupron_."

"The _Jupron's_ second jump engine is still offline." The gravitational eddies had damaged her engines and hull significantly more than the other vessels as she was the closest. "They estimate forty-two hours before they can replace and re-align the system. Two other ships are requesting time for maintenance and repairs before we continue."

This was as good a place as any to do repairs. They were in the middle of nowhere, away from any system. The defense forces were positioned, and all of the convoy ships would receive the next sets of emergency backup jump coordinates in a few moments. He wasn't going to leave any of them alone. _Jupron_ required time. He would give it to them. Every explorational ship had a minimum of two jump engines, an unusual practice on civilian ships but for long-ranged exploratory vessels, it was a critical necessity. Most of the CDF had three."

"They have permission to proceed. I don't want one of our civilian ships stranded in the middle of nowhere. Any sign of Cylon pursuit."

"Negative, all returning Alpha raptors report clear on previous jump points." Lieutenant Ria's response was automat these days. "Our Beta raptor squadron are on route for confirmation." No sigh of Cylons had been reported since they began this expedition. Still, it paid to be vigilant.

"Bring the Alphas in. Keep DRADIS active," the Admiral said. "We'll be here for a while. Have our sensors choose a likely system that matches our predictive parameters and compare them to any system within one hundred twenty light years. Punch in the new coordinates for our next jump in forty-eight hours. I want our Alert One and Two vipers on patrol. All battlestars will have Alert vipers on patrol and at heightened alert. Orders are not to fire on any unknowns unless fired upon. If that's true, re-enforce the rule. No shooting unless fired upon first. We're close. I don't want any surprises."

Yes, Admiral." Ria didn't believe it would be needed. They were in the middle of nowhere. The closest star system was five light years away. If the Cylons were tracking them, the advantage would be the CDF's. Unless they attacked with seven to one odds, the state-of-the-art battlestars would run all over them. Like the rest of the crew he was confident that this small fleet could handle anything thrown at it. But they were alone, and he was beginning to get homesick. Being out here in unknown almost a year was tiring. "Alert One and Two launching. Will be on station, ETA three minutes. _Tycheon_ Alert Vipers launching, Alert Vipers _Junis_ launching. URAD (unmanned recon alert drones) are launching. on station in five minutes."

"The _Anazeeteet_ has cruiser _Yeron_ will relieve in six hours.I don't want us surprised by uninvited guests."

All Alerts will be on station in six minutes. _Anazeeteet_ taking point. Securing fleet coverage. All civilian defense systems online and active."

The civilian ships of the exploratory fleet were unlike standard civilian ships. The _White Star_ line were weapons-capable powerhouses. Every ship had firepower equal to the old-style _Colombia_ class battlestars and the crew knew how to effectively use those weapons. The civilian liners were not in the same class as the powerful _Minoans_ , the second-generation successor to the old _Colombias_ , but with their extra armor, they could handle themselves in a fight. These new 'civilian' vessels were the response to the Cold war being waged between the Colonials and Cylons.

On the massive _Mercury_ , unlike earlier block versions, the DRADIS operators were positioned just behind the Commander's position in the center of the bridge. It consisted of three independent systems, each with three large view screens. The DRADIS operators were the visual heart of the entire fleet. Each operator had his or her own specialty tracked every aspect of the fleet. The center operator focused on traffic control for the fleet. Every ship, both civilian and military were identified, tagged, and their position logged and constantly updated. The second officer specialized specifically on the military ships and vessels and all offensive operations.

The third officer's responsibilities focused on the defensive responses of any all enemy activities. That operator was also responsible for tracking, directing and monitoring the unmanned recon drones which extended the reach of the overall sensor suite. Integrating the other battlestar DRADIS inputs into its own, this gave the command ship a god's eye view of everything within DRADIS range. This was the first system of its kind in the Colonial fleet. The computer power required for this was tremendous and pushed Colonial computer technology to its limit.

After the first Cylon war, computer technology lagged as a fear of artificial intelligence grabbed the population and held it. The Colonial military however never fully retreated or outlawed their precious tech. Highly classified organization within the CDF continued their research, improving their computer capabilities and efficiency. After the encounter with the Earthers and the subsequent discovery of the attempted Cylon viral attack and subsequent cold war, those improved technologies came out into the open. Within the civilian population, the improvements were slow in coming back general public. In the military community, it was embraced as the real competition between them and their enemies continued in the cold war. Anti-viral systems flourished, and computer power and weapon's capability increased, so quickly that the Colonials were confident that they could handle anything that the Cylons (or anyone else) could throw at them.

Therefore, what happened next came as every rude and frightening shock. One moment, the boards were clear of any unidentified objects, the next an unidentified target simply appeared on all three DRADIS stations, almost on top of the fleet.

* * *

 _Son of a … "_ DRADIS alert!"

"Confirmed! We have two unidentified targets three light seconds in front of the fleet."

Cunningham's response was immediate. "Set Condition One throughout the fleet. Order all Alert vipers to remain at station and do not engage unless ordered. I want constant updates on the status of the contact."

The XO, Colonel Clifton Ramsies seemingly appeared from nowhere and was hovering over the DRADIS units. "The targets are gunboat sized, but that's all we can tell."

"Keep calm, everyone, Cunningham said. "This may be what we've been looking for. "Open a channel. Transmit in the clear."

"Admiral, we're already receiving a transmission across all channels." The lead comms officer looked up in wonder and then he smiled. "It's in Caprican standard, sir."

"Inform Ambassador Isahan that we might need her services as soon as possible. Lieutenant, put it on the speakers."

"Done." The young man hit a couple of buttons. _"Attention unidentified fleet, you have entered United Coalition of Worlds space. Please power down your weapons and identify yourselves and remain where you are."_

"It's an automated hail, sir. It's repeating."

Cunningham nodded. The hail was in Colonial standard. which meant that these people were probably Thirteeners, the nickname most of the Colonials now used, or the Thirteenth Tribe as they were officially called. Silently, he mentally chastised himself to remember not to use the slang term. DRADIS couldn't get an accurate reading through what had to be their ECM system but from the visual configuration, even at such a distance, was along the lines of the original vessel that had visited Cyrannus years ago, lightly armored, with a slightly higher power signature than a ship that size should be able to generate. They were larger and appeared to be patrol vessels, which seemed consistent with the presumed capabilities of the Earth folk. He was rather giddy at finally meeting his first mission goal a little before the projected timetable for searching in the targeted area.

"This is Admiral Frankius Cunningham, in command of the expedition fleet of the Cyrannus cluster, representing the Colonies of Kobol and its people. We come in peace and we offer greetings to the people of the Thirteenth Tribe, known as Earth. Transmitting in the clear."

"Transmission sent, Admiral."

"DRADIS tracking clean. No actively targeting."

"Good," the admiral said. "We don't want to provoke them. They're probably nervous as it is."

"We are receiving a transmission audio and visual. Same channel as the original Earther ship that came to us, live feed."

"Put it on the main screen."

"Onscreen…Admiral!"

' _By the gods!'_ the Admiral almost yelled. On the screen was a thing… not Human, certainly not an Earther.

What appeared on the screen were several…creatures. They looked reptilian and had various lengths of colored feathers on the top of their heads, ranging from dark green to bright red. They had two eyes that moved independently of each other as they looked around their version of the bridge and at the viewscreen. Their thin tongues moved in and out of their mouths. They appeared to be of the same species, but physically, they varied wildly from one another. Some looked like traditional lizards like those seen on Leonis and Virgon, they were much bigger. Others looked far more exotic. If the Colonials had ever seen sauroids, they could have made the association. All of them were naked wearing only different colored paint, probably denoting rank or sex. The thing sitting in what he assumed was the command chair had small amounts of gold paint on its shoulders. It had rolls of small, sharp teeth and its face reeked of intelligence.

"It's an alien!" a wide-eyed looking Lieutenant Anez screamed loud enough to be heard throughout the bridge. "It's a lizard!"

The creature's eyes swiveled and looked directly at the Admiral.

Cunningham was disconcerted by the eye turret movements and the creature itself. The shock caused him to hesitate for an instant as he tried to reconcile what he was seeing with what he thought he knew to be true. The momentary shock was so great, he almost didn't hear the creature's first words."

" _Greetings alien Tosevites from another world, I am Senior Shiplord Kirel of the 127_ _th_ _Emperor Hetto, a ship of the United Coalition of Worlds,"_ said the shiplord. The shiplord always thought of the Humans of Tosev III as Tosevites, the name given to them by the Race. To him, Tosevites were what the Big Uglies _were_. The Emperor decreed that they be called Terrans, but these Tosevite creatures weren't Terran, so he did what the Terrans called an end run around that little command. _"Your ships are being monitored. You have entered UCW territory? State your purpose for being here that we may proceed with civilized communication. If you choose conflict, we will remove you from our territory. Speak so that this shiplord of the Race may understand your purpose for being in our sector."_

"What _are_ you?" Cunningham asked. He almost groaned. That was terrible. The creature said nothing. Undeterred, the admiral continued. "We had no intentions of violating your territory. We are looking for species of our kind, called Humans. We believed that they were in this sector, this part of space. We are, we were unaware of your people, that there was another species in this part of space. We come in peace. We are not hostile, but we will defend ourselves if you attack us."

" _We will not instigate hostilities unless we are provoked,"_ Kirel responded. _"You fall within our patrol region. Our sensor indicate that your weapons are active but are not actively targeting us. I now pose a question: In your journeys, have you Tosevites encountered hostilities?"_

By its intonation, the admiral was assuming that the word 'tosevite' was its name for Humans. "No, we have not, as of yet. _'But the day is young,'_ he thought.

"Sir, Ambassador Isahan is on the line," Ramsies whispered. "She wants to speak to the creature, ah-alien, er shiplord," the comms officer was staring at the real-life alien in front of him and he was spooked.

Cunningham nodded. "Put her through. "His focus returned to the alien. "Senior Shiplord Kirel, so that we may avoid any misunderstandings between our two people, I am adding our ambassador to our communications. She is our contact specialists and will be able to clarify any misunderstandings before there any difficulties might arise."

When this incident was over, the admiral promised that he was going to have a session with the staff and they were going to develop some SOPs that would be used for this type of scenario. What little they had concerning non-human alien contact was laughable because it didn't exist. Granted, this had never happened before and there were no precedents that could be used as guidelines and they were making this up as they went along. Such lack of procedures was a sure recipe for disaster.

" _Understood, we will do the same. Hasten this individual so that I can speak with you as civilized beings."_

Cunningham tried not to glare at the creature, as he didn't like the way this alien was rushing him. Furthermore, he felt that somehow, he had been insulted by the shiplord although he couldn't prove it. He couldn't tell what the creature was thinking and trying to understand its body language was impossible. The way one of its eyes continually looked at him while the other swiveled every which direction was unnerving. A quick glance at a couple of his people and he could see the confusion and fear in their faces. First Contact with an alien species was something that none of them were prepared for. In the collective backs of their minds, yes, there was always that possibility. But realty was something different. None of the Colonials were prepared for this reality. That included the ambassador who looked stunned and nearly terrified for a moment as her political face faltered. He could understand some of her reasoning. He wasn't a religious man; however, those scrolls were just as deeply ingrained in his mind as they were in billions of other Colonials and just couldn't be ignored.

"Shiplord Kirel. I have been monitoring your transmissions and I bid you greetings from the Colonies of Kobol." The ambassador began. "The admiral was pleased. Other than the first bit of hesitation, she hadn't missed a beat. "We apologize for violating your territory. We want to avoid any negative discourse."

" _I greet you Ambassador. You are correct. Negative discourse is to be avoided. To better facilitate our communication with each other, I now transfer you to Contact Specialist Nignxe."_

None of the Colonials could determine if the rather abrupt changeover was part of their nature, or if it were some sort of subtle insult. There were obviously cultural differences that both sides were going to need to understand in order to better communicate with one another.

It wasn't just the language, everything. This is new ground.

The Senior shiplord's image disappeared, replaced by another of the reptilian creatures. This one had different paint splashed over its body, and its overall color was a deeper brown when compared to the earlier creature. The shape of its snout was different, more tapered, less reptile-shaped. It looked shorter than the average Human, but she couldn't tell. Again, the difference was surprising to the ambassador, but she quickly suppressed her surprise and begin to speak. Even though she knew it could understand her, she began to speak slowly, making sure she was understood. Even then, the woman didn't quite believe that this creature could actually understand what she was saying.

"I send greetings to the individual named Contact Specialist Nignxe from the Colonies of Kobol. I apologize if I say your name incorrectly. I am having a little difficulty properly pronouncing it. Please do not be offended."

" _There is no offense given. The Human tongue is not designed to properly speak my name. I must repeat the question that Senior Shiplord Kirel asked. We want to know why you have entered our territory and what is your purpose here?"_

"Our mission is a very important one. We are searching for a long-lost colony of ours, a colony that separated from us more than four thousand years ago. I could not help but notice that Senior Shiplord Kirel did not answer the question that Admiral Cunningham had asked him. Are you aware of any of our kind in this area of space?"

" _Yes. We are aware of your species living in this part of space. However, it is not a colony, but a world that traces its origins and history can be traced back billions of years. It contains Humans who can trace its origins back more than one hundred thousand years at the minimum. They were barbarians then, but it was their world of origin. We are unaware of any world that contains Humans in this sector of space that would date back a mere four thousand years that has not been accounted for. There are however other worlds containing Humans that might better conform to your time frame specifics. Those worlds may be found in other sectors of space. According to Earth's records and that of others, these Human-occupied worlds can conclusively trace their origins to Earth, not to some unknown colonies of Kobol. The Human living on those worlds have been identified and documented as having been kidnapped or transplanted from the world of Terra also known by the names Earth, Tau'ri, and Tosev III."_

Ambassador and all of those listening reeled in shock. Even Cunningham couldn't suppress a surprised grunt. That short conversation, if true, contained a wealth of information. Apparently, these aliens knew of Humanity. However, she had another question that she needed to ask first. "How is it that you understand our language?"

" _Your language is in our database,"_ Nignxe answered. _"We identify you as the Colonia's of the Cyrannus star system. Your languages have been catalogued,"_ the contact specialist answered.

That answer precipitated immediate concern and suspicion among the Colonials, especially the admiral. The only logical conclusions he could come up with were that these creatures have been spying on the Cyrannus system and doing so for quite some time. For whatever reason, was up to debate and he didn't like where his thoughts were leading him. However long these aliens have been spying on his people and for how long they'd been doing it. As military leader of this expedition whose responsibility was to protect and maintain the security of his worlds, he broke into the conversation. "How long have your people been… aware of the Colonies of Kobol?"

Nignxe's lower jaw dropped opened. That was his specie's form of laughter, but the Colonials didn't know that, so they interpreted that action as some form of threatening mannerism. The already tense situation became tenser. _"Members of the UCW have encountered your people before. The contact did not go well."_

* * *

An increasingly angry Cunningham put the pieces together. Somehow elements of the Colonies had encountered these creatures for, and that contact did not go well. The Brass and probably the president, wishing to avoid a panic, placed the encounter under layers of security. The Cylons were bad enough and the people did not need to find out that there was alien life and that it knew where the Colonies were. The man almost growled as he had stumbled upon the hidden reason why this expedition was sanctioned. The Brass was worried about these creatures and hadn't felt the need to tell him or his commanders. This was entirely unacceptable. He had no idea of the capabilities of these ships or the alien's real motivations.

In light of this new knowledge and revelations, he needed a lot more information in order to protect the people under his command and those of the Colonies. DRADIS and visual sensors couldn't even properly identify or see the vessels. Motioning to mute his channel, he gave orders for Alert One and Two to do a flyby of the alien ships.

* * *

"I have no records of any such encounter," the Ambassador Genyne Isahan responded after a moment's hesitation. She had come to a similar conclusion about these aliens. They may have encountered Colonials and it hadn't gone well and the expedition fleet was tasked with more than just one mission. "I understand that this _may_ have happened in the past and _may_ have caused negative feelings among our two people. As ambassador, it is my responsibility and duty to lay the foundations of peace between us. Can there be peace between us?"

" _Your grievance is not with us. It is with the people of Earth."_

" _Do you know the location of the Thirteenth Colony, known to us as Earth?"_ the admiral asked as he broke into the conversation. The words were issued more as a demand than a question.

" _I have never heard them referred to as the Thirteenth Colony, but Earth's location is known."_

" _You've contacted them before?"_ Cunningham all but demanded.

" _Yes."_

"How do you know of Earth?" asked the Colonial ambassador.

There was a pause as the creature's eye turrets swiveled towards the direction of his commander. Apparently, he was given permission as he continued. _"The Conquest Fleet of the Race tried to conquer Tosev III…I clarify my statement, the inhabitants of Earth also known as Terra–to incorporate it into the Empire. We believed they were primitives and to our sorrow we discovered otherwise. They could have destroyed us and conquered the Empire if they had so chosen to do so. In return for the Emperor,"_ and here his eye turrets lowered in respect, a strange sight to the Colonials, _"releasing the Empire's decree that Earth be incorporated into the Empire, Earth decided not to kill us all. The Race was given another world to colonize and we were offered the choice to join the new UCW. The Empire of the Race is the youngest, proud member of the United Coalition of Worlds."_

"Am I to understand that it is a part of this coalition?"

" _You understand correctly."_

The woman appeared confused and very suspicious. The alien appeared far too relaxed speaking to her. He seemed comfortable speaking to aliens. "Why are you volunteering all of this information?"

" _You need to know,"_ he answered. _"You did say that you wanted to avoid confusion between us, did you not?"_

"Then, can you tell me what representatives make of this coalition?"

" _The United coalition of Worlds is an organization of civilizations that spanned this galaxy. There are now six members of the coalition and Earth is the creator of this organization. The coalition consist of Humans, near Humans, and four species of, as the Terrans would define, reptilian species. The purpose of this Coalition is to promote trade and economic, technological development, and planetary security among the species that it represents. We are also responsible for the security and protection of those worlds under the Protected Planets Treaty."_

The Senior Shiplord cut into the transmission. _"Colonial Tosevites from another world. You have space killercraft advancing towards our position. Call them back or this will be interpreted as an act of war and we will respond."_

" _This is Admiral Cunningham. The incoming vessels are not hostile. I repeat, these vessels are not hostile. We cannot scan your vessels, we cannot accurately get visuals on your vessels. The ships coming in your direction have orders to do a flyby recon only so that we may have a better idea of who and what we are dealing with."_

" _This is unacceptable. We are separated by distance for a reason. If your vessels continue in a direction and they come within three hundred kilometers of our ships they will be destroyed. We warn you now. Return you killercraft to the safety of your expedition's perimeter defense."_

" _This action is part of our protocol. It's for our secure and protect my expedition fleet."_ Cunningham expected some protests but, what could they do? The vipers could handle themselves against local patrol ships and his battlestars would wipe the floor wipe with them. The aliens were posturing and knew they were outgunned. They may have known about the Earth people, but they were not friends with them. The aliens had already admitted attempting a failed invasion against them. He acknowledged that there were some inconsistencies. Their ships looked like the Earther variants. Maybe they were 'prizes' from their conflicts. He didn't know but couldn't dare take the chance that they weren't. In any case, he dared not show weakness. _"It is not a hostile action simply a recon."_

Both of the senior shiplords were angered at the arrogance of the alien Tosevite and the disrespect he showed for the members of the Race and by extension, he UCW. The third shiplord, his ship still cloaked, ordered his crew-males to slowly power up his defensive array.

" _That may be your protocol, but it is not ours,_ Kirel hissed. _"Our protocol does not allow alien ships to recon our ships unless given permission to do so. We follow the rules of the UCW. If your ships continue their course, all conversations will cease, and you will be ejected from our territory."_

" _Senior Shiplord, you said that Earth created this Coalition. Therefore, Humans who developed this coalition leader it. They will not look kindly at you if you choose to shoot down non-hostile vessels occupied by Humans."_

' _Admiral Cunningham, you live under the impression that because your Human you have rights to choose what we can or cannot do. The Coalition treats all members as equals. If we should down your killercraft they will not blink an eye."_

" _You will be attacking their cousins and members of a fellow tribe. They were not respect your decision."_

" _If your killercraft continue to advance, then we shall see if your assumptions are correct."_

* * *

Ambassador Isahan looked on in horror as both alien and Colonials were about to start a war. The admiral believed that the aliens were bluffing and that he had the advantage in firepower against those admittedly tiny patrol sis. Kirel was an alien thinking whatever aliens thought of in times like this. Each of them looked had no intentions of backing off.

 _ **Basestar V718**_

The Cylon taskforce, consisting of eight capitals, four supports, and one resurrection ship jumped into normal space seven light minutes away from the Colonial expedition fleet as they'd been doing for the last year.

"We're close," a Two said. "We're close."

"You've been saying that for the last two months, but I'll agree with you this time," responded a Six. "My sisters and I think that we should begin spreading out and looking for Earth on our own."

The One huffed. "I agree. we're close, not that close yet," a One snapped. "We need a bit more patience. "We've tracked them this long, we can wait a little more."

"I hate all of this waiting," the Six snapped. "We need to do something more than just track these Humans all over space."

"That's our job, track them, locate Earth and let our brothers and sisters know," the One muttered and then he smiled. "If we have an opportunity, then we nuke Earth, let the Colonials take the blame. We run back home, then come back and finish these Humans off."

"Agreed," a Three said. "The less Humans the better. How many dead worlds have we seen since coming here? No, they are a plague on the universe." But we should let our people know of our progress."

"It's take three months to send a message back. We haven't received a response from our previous communication."

"Give it time," the One said easily. "Unless they're at war, well get an answer in a couple of weeks. As for right now, let's be patient. We'll get our chance to remove the Human filth. For now, let's make sure they can't detect us."

 _ **TBC**_

 _ **Biography Frank Cunningham**_ : the character of Frank Cunningham has appeared in previous stories of mine and Mr. Bob Regent. He was originally shown in a prelude of Bob's Reunion's story. Frank was responsible for the nuking of Earth by the Colonials that resulted in the deaths of millions across the globe. The reasons for that particular attack was that he was trying to buy time for the rest of the Colonial fleet to escape the wrath of Earth forces. He was killed in the process along with his squadron and there were no survivors. Earth was truly pissed off and went to war with the Colonies of Kobol.

This character's counterpart also appeared in Worldwar: Establishing the Balance. In this reality, he tried to nuke Earth under the orders of Adm. Nagala. The Colonials in an attempt to capture the flame Cylons who sought refuge from earth, discovered is much more difficult than they had anticipated. With the forces being decimated, Adm. Nagala gave orders to Commander Cunningham to nuke Earth, thereby forcing the inhabitants to surrender. If he had succeeded, then approximately one half of the planet would have been decimated. Unfortunately for him, his squadron was again intercepted and wiped out before any of the missiles could strike the planet.

So, both of these stories, Frank Cunningham died pitting his squadrons against Earth forces.

In this story he is an Admiral with the responsibility of protecting the expedition fleet that has been traveling for more than a year and whose mission was to discover the location of the planet Earth. He was no doubt a capable commander, but in both previous realities he was discovered to be impulsive and more than willing to act aggressively in order to achieve its mission. He is supremely confident in his ships' ability to defend and neutralize any threat that comes his way. In the light of the situation happening in the story, it might have been wiser to have chosen someone else to lead the expeditionary fleet. His counterparts have shown a callousness for life that calls into question who and what he is. That same personality exists here…

The Cylons tracking the fleet, as will be seen, have no regards for human life. They have never had direct contact with people and as such their attitude is callous, unlike their fellow Cylons at home who are fighting for their lives and losing. The expeditions are about to receive a shock. Yje Colonials and Cylons at home are about to find out the true horror of the Earth Alliance and their allies' reasons for invading.

And, O'Neill's Earth doesn't have a clue. But they will as the Shadows begin their moves.


	16. Chapter X

_**Quick notes:**_

 _ **1\. Merry Christmas!**_

 _ **2\. This is part one. I have split this chapter into 2 parts. I accidently erased this potion and had to start over from scratch. No excuse here.**_

 _ **3\. To Guest: Establishing the Balance will get posted when it is ready, not before. That is all.**_

 _ **4\. If you believe that the Colonials have problems adjusting to aliens, wait until you see how the cylons deal.**_

 _ **5\. Then back to the Colonies and then earth Alliance. Clark is a happy man.**_

 _ **Everyone be well and I hope you have a wonderful holiday season.**_

 _ **CHAPTER X**_

 _ **BooK II**_

' _ **Storm Waves for the Mind'**_

 _CDF Radiance_ _UCW Territory sector Fifteen_

Ambassador Isahan was incensed at the vitriol being spewed from the admiral that she had come to know and respect since she'd been assigned to this mission. She never expected Admiral Cunningham to be anything less than professional when dealing with unexpected circumstances which this certainly qualified for. Instead, the man was about to start a war. The elder stateswoman listened with increasing horror as both Cunningham and the alien insisted at being top dog. Cunningham, she belatedly realized, was more off-balanced by this First Contact with aliens than he probably even knew.

Everyone trained extensively for this mission, not knowing what to really expect when they contacted Earth. There were a variety of scenarios accounted for when they finally reached the territories of the Thirteenth Tribe of Man. Everything, from the expected and hoped for humble meetings, to outright hostility was planned for. However, contact with aliens associated with Earth wasn't seriously considered as a viable possibility. Being unprepared for this circumstance, the Admiral fell back on his ingrained training that had served him for the last thirty years.

Colonial protocol insisted on 'a fly by' as an aid in identifying unknown, potentially hostile contacts. Under normal circumstances, in Colonial territory, this action was expected and no one other than the Cylons could counter such an action. This however wasn't Colonial territory nor was it subject to Colonial rule, regulations and practices.

Cunningham insisted he had the right to do what he wanted, and he not-so-subtly hinted, even expected that Earth would acknowledge such actions. If these creatures were indeed under subject Earth's rule, then they would sanction his actions and allow him to perform his duty according to the Articles of Colonization. He believed that being human gave him rights over these aliens who claimed to be allied with Earth. Four thousand years of separation couldn't break the unity that mankind had with itself. Aliens could never break that bond.

Cunningham's lack of experience, or perhaps because of it, lead him to wrong conclusions and those actions jeopardized the entire mission and could lead to war. The admiral was so off balanced that he hadn't even thought to use the drones for the recon instead of living personnel. Isahan concluded he, on a subconscious level, ignored what the aliens had told them because she was fighting those exact same conclusions. Well, she couldn't allow this to stand. Her next actions would cause a rift between her and Cunningham, but she felt that she didn't have a choice. She had no desire to die within sight of their mission's success.

"Senior Shiplord Kirel, the admiral will pull his recon ships back. Please do not destroy them we are here on a peaceful mission not to begin fights.:"

Cunningham immediately cut in. He was absolutely furious. _"Ambassador, you do not speak for the military. I…"_

"My authority is given me by the President and Quorum of the Colonies of Kobol in all things diplomatic. Admiral Cunningham, this is a diplomatic dispute. I have senior authority in this matter. It needs to be resolved diplomatically. I am exercising my authority to prevent further misunderstandings that could result in unwanted hostilities between our two nations. _'To the gods, please don't let him cut me off'._ "Admiral, I ask you recall your pilots."

She swallowed, trying to maintain her composure. She was now officially at odds with the Admiral and further, she had, in public, dressed him down in front of the crews _and_ the aliens. The fallout was going to be hideous and she was not looking forward to talking to him when the time came. Things will never be the same between them again, although she really didn't care. That was the sad part but starting a shooting war was unacceptable.

She waited for a response and none came; not a good sign. The recons were moving closer and it appeared neither one of the commanders were backing down. Her aides and the crew members of the _Shining Star_ looked on nervously, waiting to see if they would be in a shooting war in the next few minutes.

"… _Recall the alert vipers,"_ Cunningham muttered.

The ambassador could feel the anger and contempt at issuing the recall order. It went against everything he stood for. The woman sighed, wondering what price she would pay for overriding his authority.

"UCW vessels, please do not fire on our recon fighters. They are returning to our defensive positions," she spoke.

" _A wise decision, Cyrannus Ambassador."_

"Will you give us the coordinates to Earth's system so that we may leave your area of space and meet with our cousins?" she asked. They needed to get out of this sector as quickly as possible before things blew up in their faces.

" _Colonial Ambassador Isahan, that shall not be done,"_ Specialist Nignxe flatly said causing her to gasp. _"We will instead give you coordinates to a safe location for you and your expedition fleet. We do this for your own protection. Your fleet is in danger. When we escort you to the safe zone, Earth will contact you and they will decide whether to escort you to Earth or to another UCW world."_

A furious Cunningham cut in. _"That response is unacceptable. Other than your claims, we do not know you. You have implied that there exist threats to my fleet. Tell us what kind of threats you are speaking of,"_ demanded Cunningham who was still on the comms and by his tone, still fuming. But his voice was stiff and cold, and the ambassador understood why.

" _Admiral and ambassador, I shall tell you. UCW territory is under threat. Planetary populations have been killed by unknown enemies. We patrol these sectors so that we may discover who is responsible. Our scans of your expeditionary fleet's weapons systems prove that you are not responsible. They also prove that your fleet will be destroyed if this unknown enemy discovers you."_

Cunningham's response was belligerent _._ This thing had just insulted the Colonial _navy, his navy. "We can handle ourselves."_

" _No, you cannot,"_ Nignxe retorted. _"You are in our sector of space. We have contacted the UCW and Earth officials will speak to you. But time is a priority."_

"I insist on knowing where these coordinates will take us. I will not move our vessels unless I speak to some representative of Earth. If you know of Earth as you claim," he sneered, "then I demand that you get me in contact with Earth. I want someone from Earth in authority to speak to."

" _Not 'it shall be done',"_ Nignxe phrase was so hard for humans to say. They didn't simply comply as civilized beings. Instead, they complained first. _"You are a typica Tosevite. You are as stubborn as the male and female Terrans. This is no surprise"_ The male opened his lower jaw in laughter. _"The Senor Shiplord will agree to this demand. We will remain here so that communications can be established between your fleet and that of the Earth UCW. But, if you are blown to your Emperor's ancestors while we waste time satisfying your fears, do not blame us as you enter the afterlife."_

" _Thank you,"_ Cunningham hissed, which to Nignxe sounded like a positive reaction. Of course, having lived with Terrans and Cylons for a while, he knew better and recognized human sarcasm when he heard it.

The ambassador also recognized it. and wasn't sure whether _she_ was relieved or frightened. She thanked the gods that they hadn't started an interstellar incident yet. But the day was young. If what these aliens said was correct, they were in a war zone which was something else they weren't prepared for. She wasn't sure of the alien's body language, not sure of it at all. But the alien did seem concerned for the expedition fleet's safety. If pirates or terrorists were a problem, she believed fleet defenses could handle anything that could attack them. But according to the aliens, entire populations (what type of populations weren't clear) were being wiped out and that didn't seem like a pirate scenario. Was there a war going on? Was Earth involved and for that matter, was Earth even aware of these lizard aliens?

"Senior Specialist Nignxe, have you ever been to Earth?" she asked. She knew Cunningham was listening and he was not by any means an idiot. He would immediately know that she was fishing for information. He was just as suspicious as she was. These were aliens. Who knew what their motivations really were?

"Yes, I have an apartment on Earth in the continental mass called North America in the state of Nevada where it is warm. There is a community resort there in the desert region called the Mojave. Many members of the Race, Hallessi, and Rabotev lived there for the last five years. It is too warm for most Humans to remain comfortable, but it is perfect for members of the Empire."

"I imagine with so many aliens and Humans there, it is a very secure planet," she mused out loud.

" _Oh, yes,"_ Nignxe answered. _"The UCW is very secure. Your entire Colonial fleet could not harm that world or any other world in the UCW. It is very strong, strong enough to allow the Empire to remain an empire and not be threatened."_

Those simple worlds sent a chill down Lyndera's spine. Exactly what did they know about the Colonial military? He seemed to infer that they were aware of a lot more than she had first believed. The question was, how much did they know and how much of a threat these creatures represented to them and possibly Earth? "Why not?" she asked before the admiral could.

" _Your ships and your weapons are too primitive,"_ the reptile-like creature responded. _"Before you could wreck anything with your weapons, you would be neutralized."_

" _And that is why your expedition fleet is threatened if you remain in this sector of UCW territory without protection,"_ Shiplord Kirel interrupted. _"I have spoken to UCW Command and the Terrans have elected to speak to you. The first meeting between your two factions was not productive and the Terrans wish to address that in a more controlled fashion. Senior Specialist Kasmitt will use our communications board as an interface as you have no FTL communication. We_ _have secured a specialist that will speak to you. You are most fortunate that the male is available as he soon to retire. The transmission will start in twenty minutes."_

"May I ask the name of this specialist so that I might greet him properly?" asked the ambassador.

The Senior Shiplord almost seemed amused. _"The male is named Dr Daniel Jackson. Perhaps you know of this male?"_

Both the admiral and the ambassadorial staff were stunned. If it were true, then the aliens did know of Earth. The man's name was famous among the small group of Colonials in the know. Jackson, if this was the same person, was one of the original contacts. He was also the man who threw the Colonials into turmoil with his explanations, ones that contradicted the Holy Scrolls of Pythia and other ancient documents, thereby infuriating most, but not all of the religious leadership There were many people who never laid eyes on him that hated him. Others wanted to find our more details.

Whether it was true or not, Earth had answers to a lot of questions that President Adar needed answers to. They'd already found the answer to one of those questions (yes, intelligent alien life did exist out here). Adar believed that the Colonies couldn't remain isolated anymore. Earths presence meant that there was more outside the Colonial sphere of influence, much more. He also didn't want Earth destroyed by the Cylons, wiped out in a war they never knew of. Adar gambled everything on this mission to find their brothers and sisters and perhaps in doing so, end a conflict before it truly began.

"I look forward to speaking to him."

" _Good. The transmission begins in fourteen minutes."_

"While we wait, may I allocate a time period that we can speak more about the different species living on Earth? How do Humans interact with aliens, er, the people of the Empire and with other species?"

" _It is to be expected. As compared to the Race, Humans are chaotic, but interesting in ways the Race never contemplated before. Your species does not plan for the long term. You simply do things without considering the long-term consequences. But it works. Humans are very adaptable and are contradictions in ways that the Race is not. And you do not have a mating season like civilized species. Your species mate at any given time. It is most distressing but, it is the way your species is. I suppose in future generations the members of the empire will get used to such unorganized behavior. We find that your species have what are called family units. We once found this disgusting but are getting used to it. A few males and females of the Race have experimented in such unions. The results are still pending as it is part of a long-term experiment. You have nine minutes before transmissions begins."_

"Are you saying that you had no concept of marriage before you encountered humanity?"

" _We are not Tosevite humans,"_ and the ambassador got the impression that the alien was a bit insulted. _"Our species does not conform to your values. However, we forgive such perversities among the Tosevite Terrans and their various factions."  
_

 _ **26th Emperor Jorpna**_

Not for the first time did Shiplord Straha feel contentment letting his superior deal with the various Tosevite faction because sometimes, truth be told, he felt intimidated by them. They were Big Uglies, but he, surprisingly, had gotten used to that. What he hadn't gotten used to yet, was their ability to intimidate him and the ease in which they did it. He faulted General Jack O'Neill for his predicament. It was that human's fault for his nervousness in dealing with wild humans. When the human pest forced him through the stargate for the first time, Straha believed he was going to die. He wanted to proclaim O'Neill a murderer with his last dying breath for forcing him through that wondrous device. The curses he would have flayed upon that eggless wonder would have been chronicled in the journals of the History of the Race, had he had time to use them, but it happened to fast for his to express them. He remembered his fear, his awe, and his excitement as the world of the Race literally changed forever. O'Neill just laughed.

The Most Royal of Emperors, and with the thought, he subconsciously lowered his eye turrets at the thought of his superior, must have felt the same way for him to have bonded with the Terrans so quickly and so completely. In the entire history of the Race, such a response would have been considered impossible. It wasn't the way the Race operated. It simply wasn't done. But Emperor Rushan was a wise leader and he immediately recognized the truth that the galaxy was a terrible full of horrible neighbors.

And, it was true. The galaxy contained true horrors.

The Terrans were once considered bad neighbors–because they wouldn't stand by and be conquered like the other worlds of the Empire–but they weren't Goa'uld, or Wraith, or Lucian, or the Snashwa. Now _those_ were bad neighbors. Emperor Risson was correct. The Terran phrase 'me and my neighbors against the galaxy' was a truism every high-ranking member of the Race understood to be accurate. This new path was dark and full of danger. The rewards however were unparalleled in the history of the Race.

Although most members of the Race weren't aware of it, they were walking down a new path. To the collective mind of the Race change was filled with danger and uncertainty, something that the Race hated. Change, drastic change meant destruction. Where they were headed now, still gave him nightmares when he slept in his coffin. Only the Fleetlord Atvar, and Shiplord Kirel, and himself knew of the true extent of both Emperors Runshan's and Risson's plan for the Races future. _By the Emperors' past present and future!_ _How did he agree to this?_ How did they all agree to this? Such a plan should have taken generations of planning and no one knew but the chosen few, and the very secretive and supremely advanced Asgard who kept their existence secret until they were ready to announce their presence to the galaxy once more...

 _Feathers!_ A new generation with the genetic ability to grow feathered layers dependent on the environment. What would happen to the Race? Could the Race survive in colder climes possibility even prefer it? Will the Race become so different that we lose our unity? Would the feathered one be accepted even if the Emperor demands it?

"Shiplord superior sir," the Senior Sensor male called out. "We have detected another series of FTL jump event corresponding to the same signature as the Cyrannus Colonials."

Straha was immediately pulled out of his musing as he finished listening to male. Now that they were looking, the sensors were screening everything within a five-light-year radius. "There are fifteen space vessels, configuration unidentified. Located ten-light minutes away from the Cyrannus Expedition fleet. Energy emissions are minimal. I believe they are maintaining a stealth profile. They have no ability to generate a true cloak."

"From the initial data, am I to assume that these are more Cyrannus vessels?" Straha asked.

"The computer indicates that the FTL event profiles are similar," the male answered. "A more invasive scan may alert them to our presence. The less advanced Colonial sensors are not able to detect vessels at that range. They maintain stealth profiles either to keep from being detected by the Cyrannus Expeditionary fleet or from those they may contact."

"That would be us. So, are they tracking the fleet," Vesstil, once a shuttlecraft pilot a decade ago, now the First Officer male of the _Jorpna_ , asked. "Or are they a second fleet that plans to wreck Earth when the first fleet discovers the world's location?"

"A pertinent question," Straha said. "Let us find out. Senior helms-male, plot a course to this secondary fleet."

"It shall be done, Shiplord. Plotting and course laid in."

"Communications, contact Senior Shiplord Kirel and inform him of this new development, and that I ask permission to investigate. Contact the UCW command and have the sensor net focus on this sector." The UCW subspace sensor net, already one third completed, could accurately scan any targeted area within eight hundred light-years and when completed, would be capable of scanning everything within five thousand lightyears. The project would take another four years to complete and another two to get it up and running properly. The net could easily cover this sector of space. "There may be more of these ships."

"It shall be done, Shiplord," the male immediately responded. "Shiplord Kirel gives permission as he feels that the situation here is somewhat stable. The Terrans are speaking to the Colonials. He wants to know if you require Shiplord Romek's assistance."

"Negative, if this fleet is similar to the Cyrannus fleet then my ship is faster and in little danger. We can remove ourselves from trouble faster that we got into it. but inform the UCW of this new occurrence and ask that if needed, we receive support."

"Shiplord Kirel acknowledges. He also states that Shiplord Romek will be on alert for any distress you may experience with this contact."

"I thank you for your diligence." Pleased, Straha's tail thumped the floor twice. "Let us see the face of this new contact. Place us close enough to intimidate them as per protocol. Helms-male, execute."

The _Prometheus_ class _26_ _th_ _Emperor Jorpna_ t performed a micro jump stopping less than one hundred kilometers in front of a Cylon fleet tracking the Expedition fleet.

Basestar V718

A few minutes earlier, the Cylon task force consisting of eleven of the newest basestars, two tankers and two supply-star class heavy freighter remained stationary ten-light minutes from the edge of the Colonial DRADIS' maximum range. They were in stealth mode while the models were in deep discussion. The resurrection ship was safe, remaining at the previous jump coordinates and protected by another basestar.

"We're intercepting all kinds of subspace signals and it's not back ground this time," announced a number Six Cylon model named Ravinia, while her hands remained immersed in the liquid computer interface that allowed her and other humanoid Cylon models access to the computer system that ran the entire Collective as well as their vessels. "I think this confirms that we're nearing Earth."

"I don't agree," a Doral, a Number Five said. "It doesn't prove a thing. There's no proof Earth, if we are close to it, has subspace communications capability. The Colonials don't have it. the Earthers won't either. You saw the recordings of their ship. I'm surprised it got out of drydock. Granted. it may have had more defensive capability, but the ship itself wasn't what anyone would call advanced. Their comms can't be that advanced either. Even if it were, this background clutter is far too extensive for Earth to have possibly create this amount of clutter. I think that what we're hearing is the result of the emissions of that black hole we almost got sucked into."

"You don't know that. The collapsed star has nothing to do with what we're detecting. Something or someone is transmitting the signals," countered the Six. "What we're hearing isn't some stellar phenomena. What we're picking up is organized communications traffic. You half-admitted it yourself. They may have developed some rudimentary version. Either way, it's there for all of us to see." Her voice was clipped. After a little over a year of shadowing the Colonials on this miserable trip everyone was short-tempered. Avoiding the Colonial fleet was harder than planned. "We mustn't ignore this."

Since the start of the cold war, Cylon infiltration was increasingly difficult. Colonial Security concerned about Cylon sympathizers made infiltration nearly impossible. Few Cylons were able to get into the upper echelons of the military and government centers. Getting agents into the fleet was extremely difficult with only two models, a Number Eight and a model Three were positioned in the fleet. None of the other models managed to get through Colonial security measures. "For all we know, Earth may have more colonies than the Colonies."

"You might be right," said Randall, a number One as he entered the command center, "but Earth would be by definition the main colony world. We have to concede that they may have developed some form of subspace capability. That is all the more reason why we have to find and destroy the human's planet. If we destroy it, then we will eliminate one more aggravation. Any other colonies they may, or may not have, will be miniscule and easily eliminated when we find out where they are."

"If said colonies are like their cousins," Ravinia purred, "they may be closer to us and our way of thinking than the Colonials ever were. What do you have to say to that? Do we destroy them before we find out?"

"Do we honestly care?" a Doral asked.

"Yes, I do," Ravinia answered as her hands continued to caress the electrolytic fluid. "If they aren't a threat then why waste the resources?"

"Maybe they aren't yet, but why take a chance?" Doral asked. His voice held and edge to it. his line's hatred of Humanity was legendary among his fellow Cylons. "Strike hard according to the plan and blame the Colonials if anything goes wrong."

"I can always count on you to bring common sense to a conversation with our fellow brothers and sisters," Gregor, another number One said. "But we do have a potential problem here. Will we strike at Earth, burn the planet while we're here or wait and come back with overwhelming force and hunt every last human down. Ahh," he half-whispered. "Decisions, decisions."

"Don't count your birds before the eggs hatch," Catherine Three said impatiently. "You always gloat before we do something. It's sickening and stupid. We need to find out the source of these signals while we are here before they come and bite us in the butt. Remember what happened to The Plan."

There was a collective set of groans heard throughout the command center.

"Don't remind me," Randall One muttered. "That's another reason I want them all dead. All those resources wasted because of them."

"Earth did all that?" Ravinia began laughing. "Stop making that poor excuse. You want them dead because you want them dead. There's no other reason."

"Maybe. Or maybe they have their uses," speculated Gregor, "something we can use. Think of it as a way to repay us for ruining our plan. We can recoup our loses and screw the Colonials at the same time. What are they going to do, start a war with us because we wiped out a colony they barely knew existed? Maybe they'll send a letter of protest next year on that stupid border station we should have blown up a long time ago. That's another thing I have against Earth. That station is still there, obviously spying on us and we have to leave it be. It's sickening."

"They wouldn't dare. Like what…oh," the Six said excitedly. "Now that is interesting! They've made contact with Earth!" That got every Cylon in the command center's attention. "Normal radio signals. They're transmitting in the open!"

"Finally," a Number Eight exclaimed. "We can find Earth, blow it to hades and go home. I, for one, am tired of eating this same slop over and over for the last year."

"Put the transmission on speaker, now!" the One ordered. He was so excited he could barely keep his hands in the fluid.

"By your command," Anita, a model Eight said.

"A Four grumbled. "Remember, this is ten minutes behind. We're too far away. Processing video sync now…it's coming through. Eight, clean up the signal."

Seconds later, Gregor snarled in disgust and surprise. "What is this?" he growled. "What is the Race? What is the UCW? Where's the visual?"

"Shut up so we can hear what's they're saying!" Denise Three snapped. "Video will be available in a few moments."

"Did he say Empire? Their accent is horrid." The Doral had just finished. "Wait, I can't believe…lizard?"

"This can't be right. Aliens?"

They're lying. How can aliens speak Caprican standard?" another Six asked confused by the bizarre situation.

"Can we get a visual."

"Just about done. Coming online...my god!"

"Lizards. Ugly, slimy little lizards flying in space." Gregor Cavil muttered in shock. Then he started laughing. Randall recovered from his surprise and joined his brother in laughter as well. "This long boring trip is almost worth it!"

Caspian Leoben, a number Two looked stricken. "This isn't right."

TBC


	17. XI

_**Chapter XI**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **'Storm Waves Crashing'**_

 _ **UCW Territory  
**_

 _ **Basestar V718**_

"Abomination," Samnar, a second Leoben model whispered softly, unknowingly echoing his brother as he too tried to understand what he was seeing. He was convinced his eyes were lying to him, or so his brain insisted. _Aliens_. It wasn't logical. "It has got to be a fake transmission, a trick of some kind," he said louder this time. "Maybe the Earthers are playing the Colonials to see how they will respond to something completely outside of their experience."

"Well, they picked the wrong thing to test them on," Caspian said. "Colonials are trigger happy and I'm surprised they haven't shot at that ship yet." The others were continuing to glare at the unusual sight, more or less ignoring him. He saw the uncertainly in their faces and wasn't pleased. "It's a fake," he insisted.

"But I'll admit, it's a good one," said Ravinia. "It does look real. But what if it isn't?"

"Doing an analysis of the transmission now. Transmission is in the clear. Checking for any transmission overlays. No secondaries," Anita gasped as she didn't quite believe the readings herself. "It's clean! This is real."

Catherine shook her head. This couldn't be happening, not right now. "Question, what do we do in light of this new data?"

"Worst case scenario is that the Colonials will make friends with these aliens and turn them against us," Ravinia muttered. "Then we'll have new enemies to deal with.

"For all we know, there may not be an Earth to find," said Denise Three. "If there are real aliens out here, then Earth may already be destroyed. We all know how humans react to things that are different from them. Maybe they did the job for us."

"Listen, you twit," Gregor snapped causing Denise to glare at him. "That's _not_ what they're saying. Look at Cunningham's face. He's at the edge of having a breakdown and we all know what happens then. He'll fire on that ship because his personality psychological profile suggests that he follows his impulse and will hoot first/"

"It also means that he believes they are real aliens and he's ruining this contact." Catherine said gleefully. "At the very least, he's made a bad impression and might permanently ruin relations, that is if they don't start shooting at each other first. See how Cunningham is acting? Look at his face!"

"There's no such thing as aliens," Caspian said. ""

"We're looking at them right now! You can't deny what you are seeing!" huffed Anita.

"We're missing something. There has to be a logical explanation," countered the Two.

"Yes, they're aliens," the Eight said. "That's the logical explanation. We're not alone in the universe."

Anita looked annoyed at the interruption. She hated it when people interrupted her before she could finish. "They keep insisting they're associated with Earth and this UCW that they keep mentioning. This suggests something that we haven't yet considered" she said. "Could it be that these so-called aliens are Earth's versions of the Cylons?" she asked, getting excited about her train of thought. "Maybe Earth, instead of making mechanical creations focused on creating biological constructs instead."

"Yes, yes," Gregor said as thought about what Anita was suggesting. "Neither we nor the Colonials ever encountered any other form of intelligent alien life until now. "As you religious fanatics keep saying, God doesn't make mistakes," he finished as he got his digs on the digs at his fellow humaniforms, those who continued to insist that God was real, a belief he didn't hold to. "The only life out here in the universe is human and Cylon. I refuse to believe that there are other forms of life out here until we have more definitive proof."

"You believe Earth somehow biologically engineered these creatures to be what, servants? Their drone soldiers of some type?" asked Ravinia. Anita Six shrugged. "That is illogical."

"That's the only possible explanation that fits what we've seen," Caspian said while his counterpart readily agreed. "Fake imaging or engineered creations. It has to be the answer."

"You're implying that the Earthers are more advanced in biological engineering then we are," Randall said. "I find it hard to believe that they're more advanced to the point that they can create lizard creatures intelligent enough to be able to fly space ships! It doesn't make sense! They're using standard, primitive, I might add, radio signals to talk. That does not suggest that they have the technology to create such creatures," Catherine insisted.

"That explanation sounds better than accepting the existence of aliens!" Samnar countered. "Either way, whether real or engineered. They are an abomination. Randall, you were right about the Thirteenth tribe needing to be obliterated. I can easily see them spreading this filth around the galaxy."

"Trust me, I am not saying that I'm wrong about the humans. But I think that you are jumping to conclusions here," Ravinia said. "The experience we've had with humans may be hindering us in seeing this situation in a different light. The initial evidence suggests that these are intelligent aliens whatever their origin. You may be wrong assuming that these creatures are a threat to us just because they exist."

"No, I'm not. God does not make mistakes, only humans do."

"Do you know how insane you sound?" Gregor said, looking at both Leobens. "And I thought I was hard-core."

"Oh, this is rich! We're arguing about aliens and God's plan of the universe, right at the point of our victory." Denise Three shook her head in dismay. "We're hypocrites, laughing at Cunningham and assuming that we're better. People, we're acting the same way as the Colonials." The woman literally stamped her feet on the floor to gain everyone's attention. "Things have changed! What do we do? "We have so many questions to answer, it's not even funny. Do we continue shadowing the Colonial fleet now and possibly run into a trap? Or, do we stay here and covertly try to discover the source of those subspace transmissions on our own? We have to reach a consensus quickly on how we should proceed."

"Considering the circumstances, I vote for the latter," the One said. "Logic says we have to be close to Earth. A mistake here could ruin the entire mission."

Ravinia looked at them. "And what if we find the alien home world instead?" "What are we going to do then?" She paused for a moment to allow her arguments to set in. "Face it, we have to change our plans. Maybe we should talk to these aliens ourselves."

The two Leobens looked at her. "There's no such thing as aliens!" both of them said in perfect unison. "We won't find a home world for aliens. What we will find is that these humans are creating abominations, an affront to God."

"Okay, it's official," Ravinia said. "The number Twos are going off the grid."

"Listen to me!" The first Leoben growled. "We have a visual of the so-called alien ship. It's an eighty-nine percent match for the Earth ship that was encountered by the Colonials. It's most likely that ship was designed by Earth, therefore whatever they are, they have a connection to Earth. I believe that they were biologically engineered. They could possibly be aliens, but I don't think so. But it doesn't matter because whether they are Earth's version of Cylons, or true aliens, they are abominations. Those things are fouler than the humans that created them and they should be destroyed. War with the Thirteenth is inevitable. What we've seen proves it."

"You're advocating war for no other reason than the fact that they're aliens," Randall yelled loud enough for everyone in the control room to hear. "This line of thought is stupid in the extreme. It's wasteful, ignorant, and I, for one, pun intended, will not agree to it." He paused for a moment to let his words sink in. For the sake of argument, if they are engineered creatures, then they have the same rights as we do."

Ravinia looked at him in shock. "I can't believe you're arguing for the preservation of aliens that may or may not be associated with Earth, and I can't believe that I find myself agreeing with the Colonials. We don't know if these aliens are telling the truth. I don't like humans, but that doesn't mean that my contempt for them extends to other life forms. And maybe these humans are different? We're under the assumption that the Plan is everything. The Plan is shredded. The point is we don't know."

"Those creatures are abominations," the Samnar growled. "Can't you see that?"

"No, I don't agree with you," Denise responded. "I can't believe I am agreeing with Randall on this, but I'm not going to make assumptions about these, whatever they are, until I have more information. I'm not about to start a war just because they're lizards, whatever their origins may be."

The Doral present in the center started laughing. "It's amazing how rigid we are in our thinking. Look at us," he said between breaths. "We really are acting like the humans we imitate. I don't know whether to be impressed by our success or feel pathetic because of it."

"It still doesn't answer what we're going to do, because this changes everything," Ravinia argued. "Do we even want to continue our search for Earth with the intentions of crippling or destroying it depending on their power and…allies in light of this new information?"

Leoben looked at his fellow Cylons as if they were insane, because to him, they were. "You can't see what's going on, can you?" he started/ his face was flushed, his eyes wide. "Whether they are Earth's version of Cylons, or if they are really aliens, which I cannot accept, it doesn't matter! They're connected to those humans and they need to be destroyed. We must prepare ourselves to deal with these creatures as well as the humans. We need to reach a consensus quickly before they become aware of our presence.""

"You're advocating and expansion of the war," Ravinia said to him. "We haven't found Earth yet, much less confirmed if these creatures know where Earth actually is located and you're advocating a third front? I don't think this is a wise conclusion, but I do agree that we do have questions we need to answer and answered quickly. If you haven't noticed, we're in their territory and they could find us at any time. In other words, the longer we stay the probability of us being detected increases, our stealth systems notwithstanding."

"Ravin1a, stop stating the obvious! I think we should attack the Colonial fleet now, wipe out Colonials and the abominations," Caspian responded. His voice was slow and steady as he tried to will the others to accept his point of view. "If we do that, we cut our losses, we go home, build up our forces and come back and wipe out everything including those abominations."

Now it was Gregor's turn to laugh. "We _do_ have a long way to go, don't we? Our ultimate goal is to win the war and get rid of the humans so that they will never be a threat to us again. The extermination of the life form known as Man. That mandate does not include killing every strange alien, and yes, I said alien, we come across. We are alone out here. Everything we expected about this section of space is wrong. Our enemies are talking not shooting yet. Earth may be closer than we think or farther than we can imagine. Talking won't hurt us if it comes to that. Maybe we can score a few points. It's not as good as killing Colonials but if we don't have to get our hands dirty, then it's all for the good."

"humans lie. They all do."

"So do we and we're better at it, but we can tell if they are," Gregor said. "If this UCW is real and trustworthy then maybe we can accomplish our mission and screw the Colonials at the same time. It's not perfect but it beats a running battle trying to return home, if we lose."

"They need to be destroyed," Caspian fumed.

"Caspian, Samnar, why are you so afraid of these lizard creatures?" asked Anita. By her tone, it was clear that she was indeed curious. His fear seemed irrational to her. Both Leoben had already designated them the enemy without any real reason. "If they are Earth-made Cylons, which seems highly unlikely, Leoben, then by your arguments, we have something in common with them. Therefore, we should make contact and talk to them first before we start shooting. If they are real aliens, then it's something that we've never seen before. We should at least find out more about them. It may help us in the long run."

Caspian didn't answer her, instead turning to another fellow Cylon. "Doral, do you agree that, if these creatures are indeed associated with Earth, then they are, by default our enemies?" asked the Leoben.

Doral reluctantly nodded his agreement. The man turned to Gregor Cavil. "So far what we've heard indicates that these creatures are, in some form associated with Earth. Number One, would you consider this to be a greater overall threat to the Cylon race, enough that these creatures be eliminated by any means possible, as soon as possible?"

The One in question didn't answer for several moments. It was obvious that he was in deep thought and somewhat conflicted about the situation that they were in. "If I follow your argument, then these aliens would be servants of the humans of Earth. If they are, they need to be liberated, provided that it can be done safely. If not, they will have to be exterminated. It's regretful but it may be necessary. But we don't have the resources to do that at this point as we are far from home. If anything happens to the resurrection ship, we are all dead because we are, and listen to this everyone, we are too far from our home system for our download to safely make the transfer! What I do agree with is that we should find Earth, get more information and then, make a decision before a decision is made for us! Everyone here knows that I hate humans as much as anybody here, but I'm not a fool, either, so I think caution is advised." He held up his hands to forestall an argument. "It is our responsibility to find Earth and possibly not get blown to oblivion while blaming the Colonials for any screwups. However, if these are allies of Earth whether they are the result of bioengineering or not, then it changes the entire equation. Rushing into this without thinking will get us all killed, and possibly start a war which we are not prepared for. Both Earth and the Colonials together can overwhelm us and that is the last thing we want. So, I vote we continue observing what happens. Besides, the Colonials, by the sound of things are twitching and might do the job for us, as I keep saying."

Leoben glared daggers at the One and then at the rest. "We might as well turn around and go home and wait to die," he muttered.

"I didn't know you were so scared," Denise snarked. "Have you considered that these lizards if they are alien and are an alien empire might have hundreds maybe thousands of ships? What if they have ships as powerful as the Earther ship that visited the Colonials? And where is your belief in God's will? Your faith seems kind of weak to me as you constantly harp about going home every time you open your mouth?"

"If anyone is interested, the aliens are giving a condensed history of their empire," Ravinia's dry voice cut in. "It sounds like they are an independent group now allied with the humans. They're saying that they've contacted Earth so that they can speak to an Earth rep directly."

"Frack."

Samnar hadn't even heard her. "You're right, I am afraid. I can see the writing on the paper, and I am angry that you, all of you, can't."

A Simon took this moment to ask a question. "We always assume that Earth is our enemy? Maybe we should contact Earth and these lizard creatures and explain our side of the conflict before the Colonials do." He looked at both Leobens. "What do you think?" he asked, smiling and was suitably rewarded with a muffled scream from both men. "I take that as a no?"

"Simon, you fool, this is serious!"

"Yes, it is. That is why I'm asking this question in light of everything that is happening right now."

A sudden high-pitch wailing alert cut of further conversation.

"Oh, gods, we have a contact!" Ravinia all but screamed. "Full alert! All basestars, set to Condition One."

"We even use human tactical connotations," Leoben grumbled. "Get our raiders out there and prepare to destroy the target as soon as we get a lock!"

"No," yelled Gregor. "Defensive screen only. No firing until I say so!"

The entire humanoid-Cylon collective froze. They were equally split between wanting to eliminate the threat and opening a dialogue. Scores of raiders began exiting their basestars in preparation for battle. Weapons systems powered up and missile were shunted into their chambers and the hatches opened. The collective was caught flat-footed and unprepared for this situation.

"Contact is stopping thirty kilometers from our position. it is now stationary. No active targeting emissions are detected but they are scanning us. Power emissions are very high."

"So much for the element of surprise!" Gregor was about to issue orders when, the communications board lit up.

"We are being hailed in Caprican standard!"

Weapons to active, missiles silos and tubes, ready. DRADIS going active. Raiders prepared to disembark and set a defensive perimeter around all ships. Resurrection ship is preparing to jump to emergency coordinates the moment hostilities break out. Current locations three point five light years holding at last jump point. All weapons are active but not tracking…"

Gregor scramble to relay orders to the fleet. "All ships! Hold fire. Basestars V718, _V722_ and _V114_ remain on station. All other ships jump to our previous position and hold for orders."

Catherine, a model Three, was practically demanding to take over. "Our covert mission is irrevocably ruined. The Colonials will confirm that we're here and start spreading their propaganda and lies before we can say a word and the Earth people's opinion will be contaminated, if they're even willing to listen. Any attempt to attack Earth now would be useless now that they know we're here. With the Colonials helping them, anything we could do to them would be at best pyric. We have to speak to the aliens and Earth before we wind up with another _confirmed_ enemy on our backs."

"As if we already don't?" sneered Anita who was continuing to monitor the Colonial and alien conversation some ten light-minutes away. She gave a quick confirmation as the other vessels jumped to safety. "The others are clear."

We're at the edge," declared Catherine. "We can still savage it if we act now." Both Leobens and several other models were about to begin arguing when she cut them off. "Force won't get us out of this now. If we destroy the ship out there, we'll have to abort our primary mission and then people we will have started a war with unknows with resources we know nothing about." There were dubious looks thrown her way by some of her brothers and sisters, but many more looked thoughtful, or uncertain. "Look at the data. We're stealth mode and they saw us. Right now, they most certainly have more ships incoming, so our choices are simple: either we talk or run."

"Open a channel," Randall slowly said. Catherine was right. "I didn't come all this way to start fighting lizards for no reason. There's nothing else we can do now. Let's hear what they have to say."


	18. Chapter XII

_**Chapter XII**_

 _ **Book II**_

 _ **'Tidal Wave Part I'**_

 _ **Basestar V718**_

"No!" Caspian growled. His voice carried a touch of hysteria "We can't let their conversation infect us! Destroy the ship while they're trying to communicate. Use the virus, it might work on their systems and then, we can find their home world and destroy it before they can mount a defense!"

"Shut up and use your brains," Denise yelled. "We can't start a battle here. You do realize that's not the same vessel out there. The Colonials certainly know we've tracked them. We need to talk, not shoot. The Colonials are still speaking to the other ship. We're ten light-minutes away and both sides are still speaking. We can't assume that they don't have subspace communication's capability.

"Actually, they do." Denise Three said, confirming Anita's conclusions. She was tense as she now focused on the small ship.

"They're contacting us again," Anita announced.

"The ship's energy emissions are increasing," an increasingly worried Doral added. "They're using some type of ECM I've never seen before. I can barely see them now. They are demanding that we respond or be deemed hostiles."

Ravinia snapped at Randall. "Answer the hail!"

Randall's hands immersed his hands into the electrolytic fluid and mentally connected to the comms system. He sighed. Once again all of the carefully prepared plans fell to the wayside the instant contact was made with the enemy, or in this case, the unknown aliens. "This is Cylon ship _V718_. I am Randall, Commander of this ship." He looked around. Not one of his fellow Cylons protested. Both Leobens were staring daggers at him but said nothing. "We are, we are peaceful explorers looking for the planet called Earth to make contact with them to establish peaceful relations." He shrugged as every eye in the room glared at hm in shock. He disconnected from the comms array for a moment. "It was all I could think of," he whispered at them. Without missing a beat, he reactivated the comms.

"I, Shiplord Straha speak for the Empire of the Race and the United Coalition of Worlds," a voice responded. It didn't sound human at all. "Our scans reveal that the ship you command and those around you are warships. Our scans also reveal that you use the Cyrannus FTL drive systems. Are you part of the Colonial Exploration fleet currently in talks with their relatives of Earth?"

"No," Randall said quickly. "We are a separate, er, faction. We have followed the Colonials trying to find Earth first to explain our side of the story before the Colonials spread their lies about my people."

" _What lies would those be?"_ the Lizardian asked. _"And why do search for Earth with warships?"_

"We need these ships to protect ourselves in unknown territory," Ravinia quickly interjected, amazed that she was speaking to actual aliens. "The Colonials are our enemies and would fire on us the instant they saw us. Our warships are used for our protection. These ships are for defensive purposes only, she finished and hoped it sounded plausible.

" _That response is similar in attitude of the Cyrannus Colonials. But there is a difference between your two fleets. Their fleet has non-combat males and females onboard. Your vessels are warships"_ Straha's eye turrets swiveled towards Ravinia and Randall and didn't stray. _"Do you have intentions of colonization the home world of the UCW?"_

Randall realized that this lizard-alien was no fool. "No, we seek to find a way to promote a peaceful co-existence between our people. What is the UCW?" he asked quickly, trying to deflect the aliens train of thought that hit too close to home.

" _The United Coalition of Worlds,"_ Straha told him. _"That is the territory you now occupy in a time of war. If you wish to speak to the Terrans then call your ships back and be directed to a sector that will bring safety to all fleets. If you wish to speak to Earth authorities, you will do this. Otherwise, go back to where you came from, comforted with the knowledge that you still live."_

"He's lying," Samnar whispered. "There's no evidence of any battles within sensor range. We haven't seen anything to indicate a current war is being waged. Those long-dead worlds we've passed don't count."

"Can we speak to a representative from Earth first?" Ravinia asked. "If it was possible, then her people would confirm that the aliens and by extension Earth did have some form of FTL communications, something they had to have as Anita was continuing to relay the Colonial dialogue with the other alien ship. Some Earther named Doctor Daniel Jackson was speaking to the ambassador in real time.

" _First, are you willing to call your fleet in and be escorted to a safe world?"  
_

"If we can speak to a representative of Earth first, we will consider it," she responded. "And, it would have to be somewhere away from the Colonial fleet in order to avoid…difficulties."

* * *

An increasingly frustrated Caspian only half-listened to the conversation between his people and those aliens that could only be God's version of abomination that existed solely to test his people's faith in the one true God. This debacle couldn't be allowed to continue any further. His line might not be the most devoted to the one true religion, but even he recognized a test of faith when he saw one. Their entire mission was now compromised and if Randall and the others acquiesced to the demands that they travel to a safe world, they would be trapped there. The aliens would swarm them and either kill them all or force them into slavery.

 _This could not be allowed._ _He would not allow it. Neither would my line._ He moved away from the computer console an waved his brother over to join him. "These creatures are trying to lure us into a trap. If all of ours are there in one place, they'll gather enough forces to seriously cripple us before we were able to break free."

"I agree, but they likely have limited resources," Samnar whispered. "That's why they want all of our forces gathered in one place before they attack," he reasoned. "If we act now, we can escape and come back with sufficient forces to take them and the Earther out." He looked at Caspian with a dark gleam in his eyes. God never intended for creatures such as these to exist. This mission is a failure, but it has shown us the way and we know what we have to do. Do you agree?"

"By your command. Preparing approximate protocol strike."

* * *

"Before I agree to anything, I need to know a lot more about you and your people, and this threat you mentioned," Randall sent. "I want to know more about your relationship with Earth. "They're humans. Why would you want to associate with humans? Our experience with them has proven them to be untrustworthy, dangerous creatures. They don't respect anything…"

" _Our sensors,"_ interrupted Straha, _"indicate that your males and females deviate from the human norm by zero point zero three five percent, this is significant. But you are still close enough to be identified as human. But, is this deviation the reason you do not consider yourselves the same species? Please explain this incongruity to me."_

* * *

Leoben wasn't listening. His mind was focused elsewhere. "Strike package confirmed. Targeting at coordinates seven five three relative. Proximity strike. Nuke package set, thirty kilometers," Caspian announced. "Awaiting confirm code for launch."

Anita looked absolutely shocked for a moment when she overheard Caspian imputing orders without consensus. Quickly she imputed her own abort codes. Her surprise only lasted a second before she started trying to cancel the attack. "Caspian, abort!" she screamed as she tried to counter. Denise and Catherine recovered from their own stunned surprise and both plunged their hands into the liquid matrix to assist their sister.

"Confirmed. Three-two-seven-Curasta-seven-seven-two," Samnar said smiling. " _Execute_."

"What did you do!?" Randall screamed. He too had attempted to abort the launch order and as a One, he should have been able to, but his own codes were locked out no matter what he tried. "My codes! What did you do?"

"What needed to be done," Caspian answered matter-of-factly. There was a soft rumble that vibrated the basestar. Sixteen high-yield, city-killing nuclear missiles were launched from Basestar V718, supplemented by another thirty conventional missiles. The raiders broke from their defensive positions and headed towards the UCW warship. "John's orders were very specific. If the original plan suffered any deviation from unstable elements, I was ordered to take the initiative, cripple Earth or its defenses. If Earth was deemed to be a threat, we were to eliminate said threat, escape and report back. The fleet is to immediate retreat and if necessary, sacrificed to get the data back to the Collective. Once the resurrection ship is within transmission range, if necessary, we are to destroy this ship and sacrifice ourselves to report back to him. End of story."

"What do you mean, 'end of story'? Gregor screamed. "sacrifice our resurrection ship? Kill ourselves unnecessarily? You moron! We don't have anything to send back! John had no right to usurp our command," he yelled, meaning _his_ command."

Denise threw her hands in the air in disgust. "This is so fracking insane I don't' know where to begin! Abort this!"

"His orders were clear. You are a One. He is _the_ One. It's too late to stop it."

"My God, we fired on these people in their territory!" the Eight screeched. "Impact imminent."

"The ship's emissions have gone off the scale!" Doral looked panicked.

Sixteen of their ten megaton warheads were headed towards one vessel. What was worse, the other two basestars slaved to the command protocol, had followed suit and fired their missiles at the UCW warship. Doral expected that in five seconds there would be nothing left of the ship with that much firepower being sent against it. Not even a fully alert _Mercury_ could withstand that amount of fire power from what was essentially point-blank range even with CIWS or fighter support t to shield them. "We started a war."

"We're at war already!" Caspian snarled. "We kill that ship and jump out before help, if any, comes. Humans, aliens, it's all the same. They're infestations which must be purged!"

* * *

Catherine had never seen Gregor so frightened and angry. Like his brothers, the Cavils believed themselves in charge. For him to know that John, the self-appointed leader of the Cylon Collective had gone behind their backs and had placed a 'back door' set of commands using the Leoben models as spies with overrides was enraging. Randall was just as livid. Both of them had the looks that promised a lot of pain for John when…if they got back. Randall was calling for a retreat and she agreed. They had no choice. They had to get away before the truth was known. It was only a matter of time, possibly minutes before other vessels like the one speaking with the Colonials came in to attack and try to destroy them. The Leobens' brains must have really been scrambled to even think that something like this done AT THIS TIME was feasible.

Like the Colonials, she and the others were confident enough to believe they could withstand any attack from either the Earthers, or this Race species, but that wasn't the point.

"The missile abort isn't working!"

The basestar' s DRADIS, detected the small UCW ship stunningly quick response as it began firing its defensive weapons. The ship's CIWS was impressive and more importantly it was a mixture of projectiles and… energy weapons! Were they lasers?

"The ship's killing our missiles, but they're too close!" Merceda Eight said as she focused on the attack. Quickly she realized that the strike had occurred before she could finish her report. "Impact!"

 _ **26th Emperor Jorpna**_

Shiplord Straha was speaking with both the male and female creatures when the alarms begin hissing. The Race-modified _Daedalus'_ Combat Intelligence immediately detected the launch of scores of missiles both nuclear and conventional. Defensive shields increased to full power while Combat Specialist Frellist's claws flew across his threat board activating the full CIWS capabilities before Straha could issue the order.

* * *

Cylon missiles launched from their berths by mass accelerators, erupted from their silos almost immediately accelerating to twelve kilometers per second. The missiles' maximum acceleration was one hundred six kilometers per second. That acceleration potential wasn't needed as the _Jorpna_ was thirty kilometers distant, essentially point-blank range. The computer-controlled defense system auto-defended against the first salvo. The majority of those missiles ran into the UCW's CIWS anti-missile/anti-fighter firing a combination of naquada-trinium mixed with naquada-potassium explosive ordinance fired at four hundred rounds per second from sixteen computer-controlled weapons. In the moments it took from the time of firing until the first missile struck, eighty percent of the missiles damaged or completely shredded. The entire first salvo strike lasted less than eight seconds from start to finish.

* * *

"Four nuclear missiles got through," yelled a frightened Frellist. "Second salvo intercept in three seconds."

The huge main and secondary screens polarized to keep from being burned out and the crew blinded by the three one kiloton and one ten megaton nukes impacted on the ship's shield.

Straha was in awe and more than a bit of fear for his life and the lives of his crew. The superior male was trained for this. He was a Shiplord of the Conquest fleet before he became shiplord of an UCW explorer-class warship. He was trained by Terran Naval/Air-Space Force experts for two years before he, the third most powerful shiplord of the Empire of the Race received his command of his first UCW ship. And still he was unprepared for reality of a nuclear attack, surprised but not paralyzed.

To the shiplord's pride, he crew was preforming admirably, but he swore to berate himself later for his short lapse. These treacherous, Tosevite-like aliens tried to kill him and, thanking every Emperor past, the shields held, and their attack failed. Intellectually, he knew the shields would hold but his liver had told him something else. entirely. He and his crew were in a real fight now and the enemy was slinging nuclear weapons. His own training kicked in and a second later he started issuing orders.

"Helm go evasive and give us room," he commanded. "ECM unit begin full countermeasures. Kassiak contact UCW Command and Shiplord Kirel of this situation and request from the _281st_ _Emperor Urram_ _ **.**_ I want Shiplord Romek at my side in battle."

"Yes sir," the communications specialist affirmed again using Terran learned responses.

Straha noted that everyone was responding tow their training and using Terran words as per their training. He referred to this as the Terran battle language taught to them by the Academies. It wasn't the language that the Race would use but it was so ingrained in the crew that it seemed natural now. He didn't complain as it got the desired results. "Target the closest enemy vessel and fire main guns. Eliminate it."

"It is done, sir."

* * *

The _Jorpna_ , to the shock and then horror of the Cylons was already going evasive at almost unbelievable speed. The small ship evaded the few remaining missiles that hadn't been destroyed or exploded against the ship shields.

The powerful Asgard-based twin main cannons fired in anger from the _Jorpna_ for the first time. From the point of view of the basestar being fired upon, two unimaginably bright bluish-white pulses connected to the ship an instant before every Cylon witnessed an instant of pure white and then absolute black.

The beams hit the closest basestar' s center mass. Reinforced armor designed to shrug off small nuclear strikes offered no resistance to the beams which burned through the main body of the ship, through the tyllium fuel storage tanks, through the armory, and out the opposite side of the ship before continuing on into space. There was no way that the Cylon ship could withstand such a strike and possibly remain intact.

The doomed ship splintered and broke in half as the main hull simply disappeared from the sun-level heat and energy of the plasma beam. The arms, with nothing to keep them connected, flew away in different directions as they exploded. In seconds there was barely a debris field left as flaming fragments no larger than Terran cellphones continued to burn away. There was nothing left for the raiders to defend and the vessel the tried to attack moved faster than anything the Cylons had ever seen.

 _ **V718**_

The command crew of the _V718_ went silent as basestar _V114_ disappeared from DRADIS in less than three seconds. The sensors couldn't even find enough debris to identify any portion of the ship. Whatever the Lizards used as weapons was absolutely devastating, like nothing they'd ever seen before. That was the second most shocking thing that happened in just over a minute of battle. The first thing that shocked and terrified them was the presence of an actual energy shield powerful enough to protect their ship from multiple nuclear strikes.

The rumor the Colonials tried so hard to publicly dismiss were true.

"We have to get away from here!" yelled Caspian. The shock of his total failure to destroy the small alien vessel had thrown him. As the final embers of their sister basestar winked out of existence, he couldn't think of anything do to but to flee as quickly as possible.

As for Anita, she was livid. She also felt nauseous like nothing she ever felt before. "She attributed it to fear of a painful death. Death wasn't bad. She knew she could come back. Dying in painful ways was the problem and she didn't want to die. The moment their sister basestar ceased to exist, she knew the battle was lost. The enemy ship was faster and moved with an ease unlike anything she'd ever seen, and it was already targeting the two remaining Cylon ships. Like every one of her brothers and sisters, she did not even imagine trying to fight back.

 _They had to flee, flee like whipped dogs._

 _Now._

A wildly cursing Randall Cavil had already seen the future and was screaming that they jump as quickly as possible. There would be no fighting back. It was- _just get away._

"Jump now!' Randall yelled. His face was rife with panic. The UCW warship had just fired two missiles from a much greater distance than where they were from the first attack and he knew they didn't have a prayer of stopping it as two raiders sacrificed themselves by moving in front of the missiles. Their sacrifice served to do absolutely nothing as the missiles blew right through them as if they were paper without detonating on their way to the two remaining basestar.

Unbridled relief filled his heart when he felt the glorious experience of FTL transition a moment before the missiles reached them.

* * *

"I'll kill them both!" Randall screamed as he searched for a weapon. "You two are dead and boxed!" He screamed again at both Leobens. As angry as he was, he wasn't dumb enough to say what he really planned for those two. Boxing wasn't good enough. Purging both of them from the core was what he intended for both of them.

He honestly intended to thank Anita for having the foresight of keeping the jump engines on immediate standby. That was the only thing that saved them. Like most everyone else in the command chamber, the instant the missiles encountered the energy shield–energy shield! –they knew Leoben's stupid action was a lost cause. One tiny ship ripped a fully active _Centurion IV_ class basestar apart like it was nothing proving beyond a doubt that the UCS and these lizards packed far superior firepower that couldn't matched by the Cylons. Standing and fighting would be worse than suicide. It was hopelessly stupid.

"I've already ordered the next jump," Gregor announce. His voice was unsteady, and he was sweating and a bit nauseous, but he felt better since the jump. We rendezvous with the resurrection and support ships and get out of this region of space. As soon as we can!"

Without warning, Denise viciously hit Samnar, breaking his jaw and then proceeded to kick him. Her fellow Three, Catherine was laying into Caspian with the help of Ravinia Six.

The others didn't lift a finger to stop them. The next jump was in three minutes and the Leobens weren't needed for that. Plus, it served them right for screwing up everything when they were so close to achieving their goal or at least finding out a lot critical, need-to-know information.

"Your actions caused the destruction of one of our ships, not to mention starting a war!" Catherine hissed as she continued to kick her fellow Cylon who was desperately trying to protect his private parts, which unfortunately did nothing to protect his face from agony. "We had an opportunity and you blew it to hades!"

Between bouts of pain, Caspian managed to draw a breath. "We learned that we need more resources to take this UCW and the Earth humans out…" he moaned in pain as the kicking continued.

Not even bothering to stop the assault. Gregor threw his hands in the air and turned back to the controls. "Four minutes to the next jump."

Merceda Eight called out desperately. "We have a problem! The resurrection reports that most of the resurrections of _V114_ failed to successfully complete the transition. We've lost dozens of patterns!"

At that news, the command center erupted.

"What's happening? Was it that laser type weapon they used that cause it?"

"How did we lose those patters?

"Check the buffer pattern again. It must be an error in the integration matrix. They could still be there."

"We'll figure this out later," Randall yelled as his voice cut through the din. "We're jumping in one minute."

 _ **26**_ _ **th**_ _ **Emperor Jorpna**_

"Shiplord, two enemy ships disappeared from our screens," Senior Tactical officer Malke announced. His clawed hands were rapidly reconfiguring the sensors as he tried to reacquire the ships. He had seen this type of FTL before as it was used by the Cyrannus Exploration fleet. "I now proceed to expand the sensor sweep to discover them."

"Do it," Straha commanded. The short battle had exhilarated and terrified him. It was his first battle and he was pleased that he had not shirked from his duty. The scores of training exercises with the experienced UCW Terran space commanders had borne fruit. He was proud of his crew and their responses. Even as he watched the command crew acted professionally and efficiency as the members of the Race were expected to. Being attacked with real (instead of simulated) nuclear weapons notwithstanding, he was pleased at this first skirmish and gave him confidence for the time when they encountered the real enemies attacking UCW worlds.

"Shiplord sir, the _213_ _th_ _Emperor Urram_ is at our port side one hundred kilometers and is adding their scans in an effort to find our prey."

Straha's tail thumped in acknowledgement. "Contact UCW command and request a detained scan of this sector. Perhaps their FTL drive keeps their ships within the net's range."

"It shall be done, superior sir," Kassiak responded.

"Shiplord, the sensor net has discovered four ships at…correction the ships have disappeared and reappeared nine light-years away from their previous position. Fifteen ships, type Cylon of various configurations. The UCW is vectoring two ships to that position. ETA eight minutes"

"Maintain full battle alert. Helm plot a course to those ships. Inform the _Urram_ and have them meet our other ships at the targeted area. Calculate our speed so that we reach our targets at the same time as the two UCW ships so that we will proceed with a coordinated strike."

"It is done, Superior sir. Eight minutes."

By the emperor," he said as he lowered his eye turrets in respect to both of them, "We shall now punish those who fired on us with nuclear weapons while we spoke of peace!" he hissed. "Engage."

Hyperspace engines powered up and two Race-crewed UCW warships disappeared onto FTL at a speed that would see the Cylons facing four UCWs ready to exact vengeance instead of one.

TBC


End file.
